It's wonderful the workings of a bicycle.

There is a phrase used in Ireland, (not so much these days, and probably only in country areas), 'It's wonderful the workings of a wheelbarrow'. I have absolutely no idea what it means, but it came to mind today as I was pondering the wonder of bicycles in our home.

Never underestimate the power of a lowly two wheeled mode of transport - for it has been exalted in my mind to a place of the highest possible honour.

Since July 2006 we have tried, over and over and over again to potty train Miss E. July last year she was 3 months off her second birthday and was showing classic 'readiness' signs and encouraged by her Pediatrician's advice at her 18 month appointment to act when these signs appeared, we started potty training. And so ensued a year's worth of false starts and frustration, soggy carpets and lots of bad words!

We have tried stickers, reward charts, M&Ms, making a big deal of it, not making a big deal of it - nothing worked. While her mind certainly showed that she understood the concept of going to the potty like everyone else, her body did otherwise, over and over and so we had a ritual of cleaning up wet underpants and patches in the carpet, on the tile, or wherever she chose to eliminate her pee (despite only going on the pot 5 minutes beforehand!).

Having exhausted what I considered to be all 'non bribe' avenues - we brought out the big 'carrot and stick' last week - the carrot being a bicycle, and the stick being 'you have to keep your pants clean and dry'.

Well there it went - that elusive click, click, clicking that I have been waiting for for a year - CLICK, PING, LIGHT BULB moment, whatever you want to call it - but after a full week and only one minor accident (due to novelty of a new bathroom step and lots of running water!) I am declaring that a brand shiny new Dora the Explorer Bike and 'hemlet' the secret of our potty training success! (She's even dry at night but I'm not chancing no diapers overnight for a wee while longer).

I have a very chuffed little girl who tells me that she's a big girl now with her dry underpants, and we have a very happy, and less stressed mommy!

It is wonderful the workings of a bicycle!

My Ever Observant Daughter

A conversation between my almost 3 year old, and my sister in law (much better endowed than I!)

Miss E: "Auntie Rachael"

Rachael: "Yes Miss E?"

Miss E: "You've got nice milks"

My Future Career

Forget all that stuff I said here, last night while on a major internet browse I have discovered my calling to megabucks!

Having read Megan's post about her boys' birthdays, and that she's having a joint party for them I realised that since my kids' birthdays are 2 weeks apart in October, a joint party sounded like a great idea. So, because as a mother of two small kids, with a depleted pantry in need of restocking, I have nothing else to do, I sat and browsed birthday websites for inspiration. I was hoping to find a gender neutral theme - there aren't many.

Anyway - I started looking at cakes, and remembering the British cake designer and baker Jane Asher, (she's also an actress you know - my kind of girl - a Jack Jane of all Trades!) I googled her. Found this fabulous site and started looking around.

Miss E is big into Cinderella right now - and I found this gorgeous cake in Asher's custom cakes line and know Miss E would LOVE it.



Ambitious? Absolutely - but I love a little challenge and since I make these dollies from scratch with salt dough, I figure I have the dexterity and (eventually) the skill to do it!



So I'm thinking to myself that I would love to give this a try - if not for the October birthday - then for some other birthday in the future.

Then, I glanced at how much Jane Asher charges for this cake and my urge to try it gets a whole lot stronger.

Look at how much it costs!

Four Hundred and Fifteen Pounds! - that in dollars at today's exchange rate is a whopping $852!

It serves 40-45 people small portions. My wedding cake served over 100 people, decent portions and it cost nowhere near that!

Good on you Jane Asher. Don't worry about branching out in the US though, I think I'll have it covered!

(Before all you real cake artists and fancy bakers get all irate on me, I know there's a lot of hard work that goes into making those cakes - hours of fine detailing etc etc etc - I'm still thinking I can do it though ;-) )

Like Paris Isn't Enough?

I stumbled upon the Victoria Beckham Reality TV show on NBC last night. Of course it drew me in like the train wreck it was, and I watched it 'til the end. I don't think I'll repeat that mistake, but curiousity got the better of me this time.

I class 'Posh' in the same category as I put Paris Hilton - famous for being famous, rather than for any talent they have or any positive contribution they have to make to the world. I don't understand the obsession with either.

What struck me were these things about Victoria:

• Her vocabulary is disappointingly limited - everything was basically 'May- Ja' - No doubt a British 'in word' for great, good, awesome or whatever - but terribly annoying when it's the only positive adjective one appears to use.
  
  
• She is actually quite pretty when she smiles. Why then on every magazine cover featuring her that I see as I stand in line at the grocery store (because you know I'm not buying a mag for Posh Spice!), is she pouting and looking thoroughly miserable?
  
  
• She shouldn't wear ridiculously high heels. She had such an ungainly gait and resembled a newborn foal (albeit that the foal's legs would be more shapely), or baby deer venturing out on their first steps - without that 'awww' factor that a newborn quadruped is likely to elicit!
  
  
• She is apparently sadly lacking in any real ambition in life. Having accepted an invitation from a neighbour to attend a ladies luncheon and excited to meet some friends - she arrived to find a gaggle of cackling Beverly Hills Hags whose total Plastic Surgery bill has to have been well into the millions. One of these ladies did a freaky impression of a Dolphin for her - nice!
  
  Posh's verdict? 'These ladies are May-Ja and I want to be just like them when I'm older' - At this point I'm screaming at the TV - RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
  

Career Change

Before you think I'm going to ditch my prestigious position as steward of my household and family, fear not. I have been tagged for a fun meme by Sara, about the careers I might choose if I had the opportunity to spend a 1 year internship in any company or field. Here are my top 5 choices:

1. The US President - because anyone is bound to do a better job than the current incumbent and his party, right? (Did I just say that out loud? Do I hear the sound of crickets out there as supportive conservatives among you have run away? Sorry!)
   
   On second thoughts, maybe I'm too apologetic to be a President.
   
   
2. Computer software engineer - because each of my three siblings do this and I feel like the odd one out! And, then I'd have a clue about computers and all that good stuff and I wouldn't have to annoy them to take remote control of my PC over the internet to fix my techy problems!
   
   
3. A chef - I like to cook, but I run out of ideas very quickly and so my repertoire is limited - only don't put me under the tutelage of Gordon Ramsey, while his food may be delicious, I'm not sure I could take being on the receiving end of his temper!
   
   
4. Disney Imagineer - I love Disney, always have and have long thought it would be so cool to work for them. I'd even consider working in Disney World but fear that finding out that Cinderella doesn't really live in that castle, might be more than I can take.
   
   
5. Travel Reporter - so that I could jet set around the world on someone else's dime!

I don't usually tag others for memes, but I will for this one since I am willing to bet that the following people can come up with some fun hypothetical careers, or tell us about something they'd always wished they could do!

Jenny from Absolutely Bananas
Brillig from T'was Brillig
Megan from Velveteen Mind (because she tagged me for my very first meme, and I like returning favours ;) )
Moodswingingmommy at Am I Mad or am I Just a Mommy?, because she's up to her eyes preparing to sell her house and hasn't been blogging much - maybe a meme will help her keep her hand in?
The Good Woman from My Wee Scottish Blog - again, returning that tagging favour!

Baby Food Recall

What is with all these baby and child product recalls? Here is the lastest, Gerber recalls its Organic Rice and Oatmeal Cereal for babies.

I have both cereals, both with the codes recalled. My baby is older, and is now managing lumpier foods so even if this cereal had a tendency to clump I'm sure it wouldn't have been a choking hazard for him, but still! This after the peanut butter, the Thomas Trains, the Baby Einstein exersaucer piece, and countless other items?

I'm thinking manufacturers need to get a bit tighter with their quality control.

Nobody warned me about the guilt.

Much has been written lately by me, and on other blogs about the advice, questions, comments etc that people randomly spew at you when you're pregnant, and when you have young babies/kids.

What nobody warns you about however, is the guilt.

When I raise my voice a little higher than is necessary because Miss E pees on the carpet for the nth time - GUILT.

When I clip her legs for yet another potentially harmful swat, kick, throw or blow at her baby brother, because reasoning, pleading, and calmly and consistently exercising the time out option, never work - GUILT.

When I start drinking Aloe Vera juice to help with my persistent recurring patches of eczema on my arms, fingers and eyelids without first checking if it's okay while breastfeeding. When my baby squirms in discomfort, seems unsettled and cranky, off his food and I then check about the Aloe Vera and discover that it is contraindicated when breastfeeding because it causes cramping and diarrhea in breastfed babies - MAJOR GUILT!

When I am exploring preschool for Miss E because I think she'll benefit from a couple of hours, a couple of days a week away from us, playing in a different setting, interacting with peers etc, but then honestly admit that I think I'll benefit from it more - GUILT.

When I see my baby boy accomplish a new task, and realise that he's been doing it for a while and I have no idea when he started and remembering that with his sister I practically documented every new wave of her hand - GUILT.

That Miss E has terrible sleeping habits, reinforced by the fact that by the time 'bed-time' comes I am so tired that I take the path of least resistance and don't enforce a bedtime routine because I can't face the crying or the tantrums and so I lie with her, or let her run around til she's tired enough to fall asleep and carry her into bed. That I further reinforce bad sleeping habits by letting her into our bed when she comes during the night and then proceeds to kick and toss because she's too warm, or she's too uncomfortable and we all end up with a crap night's sleep. That I give in to 3am demands for a cup of milk because who the heck wants a screaming match in the middle of the night? - and I dread to think the effect this will have on her teeth - GUILT.

When I listen to others tell me about potty training 'she's so smart, she'll get it in no time', 'it'll just click with her', 'she really should be trained by now','it's just like training a dog, you need to take her to the potty every 30 minutes', 'insert your own annoying potty training tips here, ad infinitum', when instead, I should have listened to my daughter and realised that for whatever reason it's not clicking with her, and she's not ready. That instead of having unreasonable expectations of her, it won't be the end of the world if she's not potty trained by her third birthday, nor does it matter that she's still in diapers and all of her little friends are not - GUILT.

That Miss E has just said 'Shit' after dropping her crackers and cheese on the floor - because she hears me say that all too frequently - GUILT.

These examples only scratch the surface of what brings 'mommy guilt' on a daily basis. Knowing about it beforehand would probably do little to lessen it's effect on me, but at least I could have expected it. Maybe this guilt is a good thing - although feeling guilty about these things makes me feel like a crap mom, perhaps not feeling guilty about them would make me an even worse mom? At least if I feel guilty, and uncomfortable - I'm more likely to change and do better.