Traits

Yesterday vs. Today

Yesterday I wrote the Barf and Reorg sections. Today I wrote the Top Ten Favorite Avery Traits section.  Two vastly different tones.

Barf

I'm in a bit of an anti-social mood, so pardon my rants. 

First, who the hell joins the group "Fans of being a mom!" on Facebook?  It's like joining the group "I'm against child abuse." Duh.  It makes me want to puke, just like those copy and paste statuses about how "If you have a wonderful man that works hard to take care of you, would do anything for you, that makes you laugh, that's your best friend, who you want to grow old with, who is your world & someone that you're thankful for every day & night, then post this to your status to give the good men out there the recognition they deserve."  But the worst ones are the ones that say 93% of people won't repost, will you be in the 7% who will.  WTF? 

Second, how are NPR and Faux News even mentioned in the same sentence?  Should NPR get front row at the White House or Faux News?  Again, duh.

Third, a friend shared this via Google Reader.  It's a survey administered by a Christian website about immodesty and men's views on women as it relates to immodesty. When I first read it, I shrugged it off.  But the more I think about it, the angrier I get.  The idea that the men in this survey think that it's the responsibility of women not to bend over for fear of appearing immodest and creating lust in the men is just archaic. And 48% think that women should not wear purses across their bodies!?  These men are only slightly removed from requiring women to wear a burqa. One man said, "An immodest lady is loud, proud, and dresses in a way that communicates such an attitude (male, age 24)."  Basically, this is a shut up and do as we say attitude.  Disgusting is the only word I can come up with. 

Reorganization

I cleaned out one side of my pantry this morning.  It feels good to have that space less cluttered and more organized.  I also moved Avery's desk into the great room.  She didn't sit at it much in my office, so we'll see how it works in there. 

I also finally got around to ordering the gift certificates (via Diners Club reward points) we'll use to get Avery more bookshelves and storage for her room.  It will be nice to have a place to put all the books.  I can fit them all into the current bookshelf, but they have to be arranged just so, which takes time.  I like to tidy up Avery's room each night before bed, so I need to be able to do it quickly.

Also via Diners reward points, I ordered a lot of gift certificates to get various household items at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I find it painful to buy things like sheets and pillows and pots and pans.  I have no problem spending that money on a single airline ticket, but a tough time doing it to replace stuff that is worn out.

I've also decided to get the garage organized completely.  To begin with, I'm getting rid of all the stuff I've had sitting in it to Freecycle or donate (I'm doing one mass drop off at Goodwill, etc vs trying to Freecycle individual items).  My future reorg will have a location to put things to get rid of so I can do this in batch, but I just need to have a clean slate to start with, so a mass drop off it is. 

Top Ten Favorite Avery Traits

I have been feeling like I whine a lot about Avery's whining and her tantrums.  The truth is she's really amazing a vast majority of the time.  As such, I'm going to do my top ten favorite things about Avery at this age.  Please note that I am aware that any of these traits/tendencies/habits could change at any moment.  I am also aware that many of these things are not unique to Avery, so this isn't a "my kid is so much better than your kid!" list; it's a "I'm so happy to be Avery's mom!" post.  In no particular order, despite the fact they're numbered, I present my favorite Avery traits:

1. Potty training = cake.  I am so very grateful for how easy it was to get Avery potty trained.  She's been out of diapers since just before her 2nd BD and has had less than five accidents.  Occasionally she'll get a few drops of pee on her underwear, but even that is rare.  She has been without diapers through the night since her 2nd BD, too.  That was entirely her doing since I never even suggested to her she try to hold it through the night.  She just did it.  She regularly goes 13 hours without peeing, though if she does wake up in the middle of the night, she can go potty by herself and get herself back into bed.  I don't ever have to ask if she needs to go potty since she takes care of it herself.  In fact, I'm pretty sure she goes potty less than I do, so when we're out and about, there's rarely a scramble to find a public restroom. I never would have guessed it could be like this.  So.very.awesome.  All of it. I'm so grateful. 
2. Loves school.  This morning, she was ready to go to school earlier than we usually go.  She asked to go, so I took her.  When we got there, she ran right into the room and started playing.  No tears, no drama.  I love no tears and no drama.  When I pick her up, she comes running happily into my arms and gives me a huge hug.  I love it.  I love that she so easily slots into this routine, but also that she loves to come home.  Awesome. Simply awesome. 
3. Good eater.  She's not the greatest eater in the world, but overall, she's really good and I'm thankful.  Proteins are these easiest to get her to eat.  Give her salmon or trout and she's a very happy camper.  Beans, nuts, hard boiled eggs ... she loves all of those.  Fruits are easy to get her to eat, too.  Vegetables are somewhat more difficult, but broccoli and carrots raw are a bingo most of the time.  I have noticed it's way more difficult to get her to eat well at a restaurant than at home (except for sushi where she'll down piece after piece of salmon).  However, the same is true for me.  
4. Big tantrums are rare now.  For the past couple of months, the big tantrums have not been frequent.  She had one a couple of weeks ago, but prior to that it had been a month or so.  And even the recent one wasn't as bad as previous tantrums.  The car seat battle phase was the hardest for me, but those are really minimal now.  I'm not delusional enough to think we're through with tantrums, but I'm hoping we're through the worst of them.  
5. Happy to go to bed.  While actually getting to sleep can sometimes be a process, Avery is always happy to head upstairs to start our nighttime routine.  She never protests.  She happily says goodnight to whomever is not putting her to bed, then heads upstairs and settles in to drink her milk and read books.  Yes, she still drinks a cup of milk before bed.  Yes, we brush her teeth after the milk.  No, I have no plans to eliminate the milk from our routine.  After she goes to bed, she typically gets up 2-3 times still, but we're reaching a point where I can usually just tell her how to resolve her issue while remaining downstairs (e.g. Avery: "I have a booger!", me: "Get a tissue, then get back in bed.")
6. Naps are cake.  Since starting school, nap time is so very easy.  It was never terribly difficult, but it's so darn easy now.  I am so so so so so grateful. 
7. Not a spiller.  I don't know why this is so, but Avery rarely spills anything.  She just doesn't knock glasses or bowls over.  She seems to always put her glasses down fully on the table (vs with a little big hanging off).  I don't know if this is just an insane streak of luck or what. She's always been this way.  All I know is that we rarely have any spills to clean up.  
8. She is a hugger.  Avery is in a stage where she loves to give hugs and kisses.  To be clear, she was never against them at all, but she is all about the cuddles and snuggles now.  I love it.  We snuggle in the chair and talk about her day, or she'll climb into bed with me in the morning and ask to get under the covers and we'll spoon.  My favorite is when she asks for group hugs.  For about a year now, we've done a group hug before bed.  Now she'll ask for a group hug.  When Dad was visiting, she wanted to do a group hug with Pop Pop.  So sweet.  
9. Plays well in public.  While the before and after of an event can be full of tantrums and whining, when we're actually at an event, she's typically stellar.  This makes it much easier.  We were at D's company picnic and there was another girl there her age.  She was having a really hard time (through no fault of her mother who was doing a great job at not coddling, but also at giving her the attention she needed) and having fits.  That she does so well in these settings make it easier for me to have a good time.  
10. Easy to console.  If she gets a minor scrape or bump, she does cry, but three squeezes (that our household's fix to most problems, "Do you need three squeezes?") and she's typically fine.  A real injury takes a bit longer, but even those she recovers quickly.  Quicker than me at least.