A Weeks Worth

With success in the toilet training department, an ENT appointment, the arrival of the girls cousin, Kristen, a Royal Wedding to celebrate, a trip to the London Zoo, and the death of the most wanted man in the world, it has been quite a week!

With all the toilet training we have been doing with Antalya, Victoria has surprised us by deciding that she is also ready to be done with diapers. But although she might be ready, I'm not ready to cope with the unavoidable "accidents" and emergency runs to the toilet for two little ones at the same time. So, she's stuck wearing diapers whenever we are not at home until I feel more confident about Antalya's ability to not have accidents when we are away from home.

Antalya's sleeping and what seem like continuous sinus infections have had me worried for some time. But ironically, once the appointment with the ENT was within view, her congestion cleared up, and she has started sleeping through the night for the first time in her life. I don't know why the sudden change after all these years, but I'm not complaining. I hope it continues for both of our sakes!

Kristen arrived last Thursday. I love having people visit, and the girls are loving it as well. Victoria thinks she is her new best friend!

(Victoria looks very concerned because Antalya has just run off, with Jason chasing after her)

I absolutely loved watching the Royal Wedding of Will and Kate. In fact, I was really surprised at just how much I enjoyed it, and even more surprised that the girls sat through most of it. We went to a party at a local school with a friend and watched it on a big screen while enjoying one of my favorite treats - english scones with jam and clotted cream.

(Antalya still talks about the "Princess" and wants to watch it again).

Two of my favorite quotes from the ceremony were:

Every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future (Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres).

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire (St Catherine of Sienna).

And the day was complete when a DJ showed up in the afternoon and all the kids could dance their hearts out.

The next day was our first trip to the London Zoo. I was grateful to have Kristen to help out with the girls. Victoria is completely obsessed with animals lately and didn't want to move once she found one. Antalya on the other hand is completely bored with looking at animals and prefers to run wild, stopping only briefly to catch her breathe when needed.

Here is Victoria strutting her stuff through the zoo. She picked out her entire outfit that morning and was very proud of it (although I must add, that she originally was wearing her wellies, but I made her change them for shoes since it was so hot out).

And don't let this angelic face fool you, she is quite the handful sometimes! She gave me the scare of my life when, while I was in the midst of cleaning poop off Victoria's bum on the changing table, she snuck out of the bathroom, through the cafe, and back outside without me knowing it. As soon as I got a clean diaper on Victoria and realized she was gone, we took off at mach speed running through the cafe with Victoria barely clinging onto my side. Luckily Kristen and another friend that were on their way into the cafe caught her before she escapes too far.

(Notice her name and my phone number written on her hand, after this experience I'm considering having it tattooed to her forehead just in case).

And now we have the news that Osama-bin-Laden is no longer wanted! I feel proud to be an American, and grateful for the brave men and woman who brought justice to the man responsible for creating so much terror throughout the world for so many years.

And here's to another week!

When Nature Calls

We've done it! Antalya is officially diaper free during waking hours. Can I get a big "hooray"! That doesn't mean she completely accident free, but we're getting there.

Tonight we all headed to the park to feed the ducks.

After the ducks got their fill, we headed to the playground. For those of you who haven't experienced an English park, they are huge! This particular park has several ponds, a playground, tennis courts, soccer field, etc, etc.

So while we are at the playground, Antalya makes it known that she needs to pee. I have no idea where the toilets are, so I quickly pick her up and all four of us start walking over the entire park trying to find a toilet for Antalya so that she will understand that there are toilets in places other than at home.

After 10 minutes of searching, we admit defeat and find a little secluded area with some bushes to hide behind. I help her take her pants off and try to get her to pee in the bushes. She of course has a different idea and runs out, half naked, onto the grass, sits down, and takes care of business.

I'm proud of her for not having an accident in her pants. But now I can just see her every time she needs to pee, thinking she can pull down her pants and sit on the grass and do it. I think I better warn her teacher at school just in case she tries to do it school.

More Potty Training

This week is what the English call half-term. It's a week long break you have in the middle of every school term. It's a time when most of London is either vacationing elsewhere or planning daily trips to the museum, zoo, aquarium, etc. with their children.

But for me, it is the week I have been looking forward to as the perfect week to go completely diaper free with Antalya. So while everyone else is out soaking up the rainy weather and wearing themselves out going here and there, we are taking it easy indoors - singing, dancing, baking, playing, reading books, but most importantly, making lots of trips to the potty.

Wish us luck that this will be just what my little cutie needs to finally make the break from diapers!

A Backwards Step

About a week ago I told my husband how surprised I was that potty training Antalya was turning out to be so much easier than I had anticipated. Ha! I should know better than to say such a bold statement just a few weeks into the process, right? Well, last Saturday, whatever success I felt like we were having seemed to head down hill quickly. I'm not quite sure what prompted the change, but suddenly we went from having one-two accidents a day, to having more than I could count. I was hoping as this week went on we could get back on track, but things haven't changed much.

I've felt really frustrated about it for a couple days, and several times let Antalya know how frustrated I was. That obviously hasn't helped the situation much. But, like an answer to prayers, a friend posted this link on facebook for a seminar from the Boston Children's Hospital on Down syndrome and toilet training. I feel like a new woman after listening a bit of reality. The main points I got from the seminar were that it is alright to take a step back when needed, lots of accidents will happen and it's best to just not make a point of it, toilet training can be done wearing pull-ups, and toilet training is a big deal - especially for our Ds kiddo's.

So, I've adjusted. We're taking a step (or two, or three) back. My plan is to put Antalya back in diapers or pull-ups, but continue to have regular potty breaks every 45 minutes. Once she's staying dry most of the day, I'll up it to 1 hour, and so on, until we get to two hour stretches. Then we'll switch back over to panties and see how she does.

This whole potty training thing has made me realize some of my own faults. One of my big ones is that sometimes I forget Antalya has Down syndrome. I get so caught up in wanting her to be just like her peers that I forget to leave room for that extra chromosome of hers. I forget how much harder she has to work at things that just come naturally to other children, I forget that she learns differently, I forget that she needs to do things in her own way and in her own time. And in forgetting about the Down syndrome, I get frustrated and sometimes even angry when I think she should be able to do certain things and she's not. It's good that I feel the need to push her, but today I realized that more than someone always pushing her to do more and go faster, what Antalya really needs is someone to walk by her side. Someone who will be patient when she stumbles, help her up each time she falls, and cheer her on through each success. And so folks, that's exactly what I'm going to be! Because this cute little one is relying on me.

Potty Training Update

Well, it's been over two weeks since we jumped back into potty training mode. This is our third attempt in the last 12 months. I'm happy to announce that we are having success. Lots and lots of success! When we are at home I let Antalya run around with her bottom half naked and when she needs to pee she will sit herself down on the potty and do it with no prompting or reminding from me. And she has very few mistakes when we stick to this routine. Unfortunately, she can't always be naked, and as soon as I put pants on her she seems to forget all about the potty, but with some prompting we sneak by with just a few accidents. At school she has done really well the last few days. She won't tell her aid when she needs to go, but her aid is diligent in taking her into the potty every 35 minutes, and that seems to be working to keep her dry. Today was our best day yet - no accidents, except for one poop in her panties. I'm so happy she is doing so well.

In other news, it has been a very cold, dark, rainy last couple days. The kind of weather that makes you want to cuddle up by the radiator, make some yummy soup, and read a good book. So tonight we tried a new recipe for Chili con Carne. It was excellent! So thought I would pass it on.

Rich Chilli con Carne with Spiced Butter
For the Chilli:
6 tsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 whole star anise
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 can diced green chiles
2 T tomato paste
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced

For the spiced butter combine the following:
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup butter, softened

Add 3 T olive oil to pan, add ground beef and cook until evenly browned. Drain and remove from pan. Add remaining oil to pan, saute onions and star anise until onions begin to soften. Add garlic and diced chiles and cook for another 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and cook 5 more minutes until everything turns a brick red color. Add the ground beef and lemon juice. Simmer for a minute. Add tomatoes and beef stock. Simmer on low heat for one hour or until it has reduced to a thick sauce consistency. Add the kidney beans and red bell pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Stir in 2 T spiced butter. Remove the star anise. Serve topped with sour cream, spiced butter, lime juice, and cheese.

Hope you enjoy as much as we all did!

Potty Time with a Little Baked Goodness!

Today was a successful day! We had more success and accidents and Antalya seems very pleased with herself. In fact, when it was time for Victoria to go to sleep I asked Antalya if she was ready to take off her Elmo panties and put on a diaper and she said, "NO!" I hoping her enthusiasm sticks for awhile and by the end of the week we are still seeing some progress.

On a completely different note, I found this delicious recipe. I've been wanting to find some baked goodness that didn't require eggs for those times when I have the desire to bake, but forgot to buy eggs. So here it is:

Brownie Pudding Cake
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups boiling water
powdered sugar, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish or round souffle dish. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and 1/3 cup cocoa in medium bowl. Add milk, butter and vanilla, stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish.

Combine brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour boiling water over entire mixture; do not stir.

Bake 35 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the top layer comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

It turned out delicious - a gooey pudding layer on the bottom, topped with a delicious chocolate cake. Antalya doesn't like anything the consistency of pudding or yogurt so she took one bite, said, "yucky" and went off to play. Victoria on the other hand just about licked the bowl clean and threw a fit when I told her she couldn't have any more.

Speaking of Victoria, she is quite the little girl these days. It seems I rarely see her without at least one purse on her arm. She loves hats, necklaces, shoes, putting on make-up, and cuddling her doll when she goes to sleep. What a cutie!

Potty Training: Attempt 3: Day 1

Well, it's been just over a year since I posted this about our potty training attempts. I'd like to say that during this past year Antalya has mastered the idea of using the toilet, but that's not quite the case. In fact, shortly after our first attempt a year ago to get out of diapers, I admitted it wasn't time yet and we gave it a rest.

Six months later we gave it another try, but after four accidents in less than an hour on the first day, I decided that regardless of whether or not Antalya was ready, I was not ready! So I dropped it again.

Now, another six months have passed and I've decided it's time to give it my best shot. Antalya is off school all week, and except for a speech assessment and a birthday party we have absolutely no where to go and nothing better to do than stay home and watch movies, play with toys, sit on potties, and eat potty treats. So that's what we are going to do. One full week of all waking hours being diaper free hours. And at the end of the week, depending on how far we get I will decide to either continue (her teachers at school are very supportive and will help me on that end), or I'll put the potty training on hold again - probably until I Victoria is ready and I can do them both at the same time.

So how did today go? Not too bad. Five accidents, followed by one success! I think we are off to a good start :)