The Accident

We experienced an accident.  . . .

A poopy accident.

Our very first, poopy-in-the-underwear-while-away-from-home, sort of accident; April 26, 2013, 12:43 PM at El Pollo Loco.

Justbathroomsigns.com

We had just finished up lunch, and we were on our way to Walmart to do a little shopping, but we figured Samuel should try to go potty first, before we left.  It was decided that AJ would take care of the deed.  While on their way to the restroom, AJ asked Samuel, "Do you need to go pee pee?"

And as they walked into the Men’s restroom, Samuel responded, "No, poopy.  I need to go poopy AND pee pee."

AJ thought to himself, as he was helping Samuel take his shorts off- Great!!  We are out, and Samuel is going to go pee and poo in the toilet, this is perfect.  Could it get any better?!

Well, apparently, the idea of relieving himself was very relaxing to Samuel because as AJ pulled Samuel's pants off, he found a "warm, fresh poo"-- that is how AJ described it to me-- in Samuel's underpants.

This is when I come into play: 

            AJ left Samuel sitting on the potty and ran out in a panic, and if I remember correctly, he brought the poopy underwear with him.

"EMILY!  Samuel just pooped in his underwear!! (Points at the underwear, as if I didn't see them.) WHAT DO I DO?!  You have to come in and help me."

"I am not going in the Men's bathroom, AJ.  But I will help from out here."

In case you need a visual.

From just outside the Men's restroom, I gave AJ the How-to on cleaning poop out of Samuel's little underwear.  Meanwhile, Samuel had finished going pee pee and poopy on the toilet.  AJ’s hands were full, for that reason he sent Samuel over to me.  Samuel was grinning adorably, and immediately put his hands on the ground and stuck his bum, covered in poop, in the air-- right in the doorway of the El Pollo Loco bathroom!  (There were people eating, right there and they could clearly see his messy miniature bum. Yum.)

Lily was holding onto my left hand and I was trying to wipe Samuel clean with my right, while he was wobbling all over the place.  And . . . I got poop on my hand.  As I finished tidying up Samuel, AJ asked me to go to the front of the store to ask for a bag to put the, now clean, but wet, undies in. 

GAHHH!!!  I can't go asking for bags, I have poop on my hand!  "Alright, I will be right back.  Keep an eye on Samuel."

At the register, all the employee's we busy doing something in the back or already helping another customer- Really?!  So I stood aside til someone wasn't occupied, asked for a bag and hurried back to the Men's bathroom.  I was just in time to put the extra pair of underwear I had packed in the diaper bag, on Samuel.  Then both AJ and I washed our hands and Samuel's, and we continued on with our errands like nothing had happened.

It all seemed so eventful and crazy in the moment, but looking back I feel we handled it fairly calmly.  We are practically seasoned veterans in the potty training club now.  Cheers to us!!

The Girl on the Rocking Chair

Sometimes, while Samuel is napping, Lily and I enjoy the peace and quiet together.  A couple days ago, we cuddled and rocked on the rocking chair for a good 20 minutes- it was so refreshing.  As expected, Lily started squirming uncontrollably, so I put her on the rocking chair, and I sat on the ground, and I rocked her back and forth.  She was so unstable, wobbling all over the place, but she LOVED it!  Her grin stretched from ear to ear and her laugh was so genuine, it came from her soul.  Pure happiness, the pure joy of a child, in that moment.  So I did what any mother would do... I attempted to capture in on camera.

A Post of Pictures: El Pollo Loco

1 Car Seat + 1 Dark Chocolate Candy =

One happy, and a bit messy, but still completely adorable, Lily.

MY Little Ponies...

               A couple weeks ago, Gina snail mailed us a picture she drew of our family as "My Little Pony" ponies and she asked us to color it and send it back.  So AJ colored his pony, Samuel colored his dragon and I colored mine and Lily's ponies.  I just love our pony family!!

Clarification:  It may appear that AJ's pony is pink, but he is actually maroon.  You know, like ASU's colors.  Just putting that out there.

Vodka?! Why Vodka?

                There have been a lot of questions since my previous post.  (I didn't realize it would cause such a stir, but, I guess, I do understand considering … it is alcohol!)  Everyone wants to know where vodka came into the story, and I can tell you now, it didn't, not that story anyway.  As a result of all the questions I decided to share the back story behind the title, “Poop, Vodka, Potty Training and Movies.”

Rewind 2 years …

          It all started, when this girl.

Met this boy.

And he brought over The Game of Things.

(You see, these two, Amanda and Jake, were dating, so they were always together.  AJ and I may or may not have used “chaperone” as an excuse to hang out with them all the time.  They are that cool.)

                We stayed up really late one night playing Things- just like the night before that, and before that, and before that, and … ok, you get the picture.  Dating, remember?  In any case, it was really late, Samuel was fast asleep, and we were playing Things, again.  (We seriously ADORE that game.)  We being Jake (the boyfriend), Amanda (sister-in-law), Jenny (my cousin), Gina (my sister), AJ (husband) and I (myself).

                Ok, little explanation of Things, just in case you haven’t had the pleasure of playing it yet.  Someone, “the reader” picks a card and reads it out loud, “Things that jiggle.”, and everyone writes on their own piece of paper, something that jiggles.  It can be safe, such as Jell-O or keys, or it can be risky, like butts, boobs or a bed.  A water bed you nasties!  (Or it can be poop, because poop is the answer to everything.)  After everyone has written a response they pass it in to “the reader”, who reads them aloud, and then, beginning on the reader’s left, the players try to guess whose response was whose.  That is the gist of the game.

As the night wore on, and our minds became clouded with exhaustion, it became common, after there was an especially hilarious answer, when we couldn't think of anything to put, we would repeat the especially hilarious answer.  Then, we even repeated funny responses from eight nights ago.  And at some point we started combining all the hilarious answers together, and the most used combination was “poop, vodka, poker chips and pancakes.”  Poop because … it’s poop, it’s funny.  Gina randomly contributed vodka and poker chips- doesn't sound funny to you?  Well at 12:30 AM, for the twelfth night in a row, it's a killer!  Ever wonder "things" people do on their honeymoon?  They make pancakes, now you know what all the hype is about, courtesy of Amanda.

            That my friends is how poop, vodka, poker chips and pancakes came to life.  And to this day, if we ever pull out The Game of Things, poop, vodka, poker chips and pancakes, will still come up.  And that brings us back to my previous post's title, Poop, Vodka, Potty Training and Movies, I simply adjusted poop, vodka, poker chips and pancakes to fit the post.  And now you know, the rest of the story!

Poop, Vodka, Potty Training and Movies

                While we were on our trip in California, Samuel went poopy on the potty THREE times!!  AJ and I were so proud we bought him Wreck-it Ralph, but when we got back home, he went back to pooping in his diaper.  Disappointed, and a little frustrated that we didn't know what to do, we told him if he went poop in the potty, we would drive straight to Wal-Mart, and he could pick out ANY movie he wanted.  It took a couple days of encouraging but he finally did it, and came home a happy boy carrying Charlotte’s Web under his arm.  He was unaware that I had picked out two additional movies to add to the poopy-prize bowl, Mulan and Happy Feet.  It had been a day and a half since the Wal-Mart trip and Samuel still hadn't pooped, in the potty or a diaper.  I thought to show him the new poopy-prize-movies and told him if he went on the potty, he could pick one.  I went about my motherly business and a few minutes later Samuel ran up yelling he had just gone poopy.  I was unconvinced, but allowed him to lead me into the bathroom, to show me the proof.  And lo and behold there was a log sitting in the bottom of the bowl.  Nothing like the motivation of a new movie to get a little boy to go on the pot!

Samuel with all of his "poopy" movies.

My Mind-blowing Artisticness

I have a dear friend, Annie, and she has super amazing artisitc skillz.  Like, AMAZING.  So amazing that she draws portraits of people's families as a side job, and I just love them!  Check HER BLOG out!!  (Top right corner, under "My Work" you will see exactly what I am talking about. )

So, I decided that I was going to do one of my own family illustrations.  Your mind will be blown ... I am just sayin'.

MIND BLOWN!!!

Oh, yeah!  That's right.  It now hangs proudly, where few will see, in my children's bedroom.

Mission Disneyland: California Adventure Edition

April 5, 2013 1600 hours
Anaheim, California

Our first destination in California Adventure was Hollywood Land.  Monster's Inc. is one of our favorite Disney-Pixar movies and we were super excited about the ride.  After our previous day of fun at Disneyland Samuel had the whole line thing figured out, and he knew the place to be was at the FRONT of the line.  So he kept attempting to cut through the bars to get to the ride. Thankfully, we were only in line for about 5 minutes before we were boarding.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and just before the last turn to where you get off, is Roz.  And Roz talks to you.  She surprised us all by saying, “Have a good day boyz… if she (Lily) doesn't behave, you let me know.”  AJ and I were both so surprised we muttered a wimpy, “Ok.” and then our cart moved forward and we got off.

A bug's land was pretty much right around the corner from Hollywood Land so we hurried over and the first line we saw was for Flik's Flyers, so we jumped in line.  This was by far the longest line we stood in all day, and we still only stood there for 20 minutes.  The ladies in front of us were super nice and we talked with them the whole time about potty training and getting kids to walk.  Unfortunately, because we were chatting, we didn't notice until we were getting onto the ride that we had forgotten the camera in the stroller.  Luckily, I had my handy-dandy phone, so we snapped a couple pictures with it.  Samuel chose the Homespun Applesauce box for us to ride in, I think because it was the closest one to us- I like the way he thinks.

Francis' Ladybug Boogie was right across the way from Flik’s Flyers, so we practically walked out the exit and straight into the line.  This ride is basically the tea cup ride except you are sitting in a ladybug instead.  And I LOVE the tea cup ride so I was not going to pass up riding the Ladybug Boogie.  And I am glad we didn't because we only stood in line for maybe 3 minutes and then we were spinning and spinning and SPINNING!!  So fun.  I even took a video while we were spinning to share with you.

Next we rode Heimlich's Chew Chew Train because there wasn't a line.  We walked up and boarded the train.  And this ride was adorable and Samuel was truly adorable riding it.  Just watch the video and you will understand.  Can you see the wonder in his little eyes?!  I love it!  Anyway, as we were riding through the slice of watermelon there was a little squirt of water and some hit me.  I had a little freak out moment because I hate the stickiness of sticky things.  It cracked me up that Samuel didn’t really react.  Then right after the watermelon we ride through a box of animal crackers and IT SMELLS JUST LIKE ANIMAL CRACKERS!!  AJ and I were both like, “Did you SMELL that?!”

The last ride we did in a bug’s land was, Tuck and Roll Drive 'Em Buggies.  Because Lily isn't anywhere near 36” she and I couldn't ride, but Samuel is a big boy so he could ride.  Lily was a little crazy during the 10 minute wait, but I am glad they went. Daddy and Samuel had a great time.  AJ ended up pushing the pedals, Samuel couldn't reach, and Samuel was steering the buggy.  They were crashing into people and laughing and having a great time.  I really enjoyed watching my boys play together.

Our last stop in bug’s land was the 3D, It's Tough to be a Bug Show.  Just as we walked in they closed the doors so we had to wait 9 minutes for the next showing, but it gave us time to look around.  There was funniness everywhere.  AJ took a picture of me with the “Beauty and the Bees” because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie.  But there was “Little Shop of Hoppers”, “My Fair Ladybug”, “Web Side Story”, “Barefoot in the Bark.” and many more.  This was Samuel least favorite experience of the whole trip, right up there with the Nemo submarine.  At first there was a little butterfly, Samuel loves butterflies, and he was trying to get a really close look at it.  Then, there is a part where it seriously seems like spikes are being thrown at your face, Samuel started yelling and sobbing, “No! no! no!”  Then you get hit in the face with poison, and stung in the back.  After that some huge spiders fall from the roof and by that point Samuel had had more than enough!  He was off his chair and ready to bolt at the next sign of danger.  He was grateful when it was over.

Car's Land.  The place AJ and I were most excited for!  After a bug’s land we were right at the entrance of Car’s Land, and it was … a masterpiece!  It looked just like Radiator Springs, just like it.  The only ride we rode in Car’s Land was Mater's Junkyard Jamboree because Samuel was too short to ride Radiator Springs Racers (which AJ and I both REALLY wanted to ride) and the line was way, way to long for Luigi’s Flying Tires.  But there still was a height limit on Mater’s ride so Lily and I stood outside and watched while Daddy and Samuel rode together.  Then we switched and Samuel and I rode together.  Even though mater’s Junkyard Jamboree was really, really busy AJ was only in line for 15 minutes and I was only in line for 5.  This was my favorite ride, hands down, of the whole trip.

And to top it all off … we got to meet MATER!  Samuel was so surprised- he really didn't know what to think.  At first, he was a little wary of Mater, and we wanted him to get a little closer for the picture.  We said, "You can touch him Samuel.  You can touch Mater."  So he scooted over and awkwardly touched Mater's lip.  As we were leaving, Samuel gave Mater a hug and Mater laughed- it was so cute!  Then we saw Lightning McQueen, the line was far too long, so we didn't get to meet him.

Exiting Car’s Land took us straight to Paradise Pier.  We did a little wandering, because we weren't sure where to find the ride we were looking for, which was Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure.  Samuel was in awe about the water and kept pointing it out and the birds and this and that.  I love that kids do that.  After a little confusion and searching the map we found the ride we were looking for and there was only a 5 minute wait.  All four of us squished into a sea shell together.  AJ and I loved the ride.  Samuel was a little worried when we said, “We are going underwater now.”  I think he has a little PTSD from the Finding Nemo submarines.  But he soon realized we were only underwater in our imagination.

Across from Ariel’s Under the Sea Adventure was the Golden Zephyr, which was our next stop.  And we got lucky because we practically walked straight onto the ride without waiting at all- score!  Side note: I don’t really understand why they have this ride at a Disney park, I love it, but it isn’t really … Disney.  Anyway, so we were flying around and around in our rocket and Samuel kept yelling, “Hi, any people!  Hi, any people!”  What does that mean?!

After our rocket flight we walked around the pier on our way to the “Mickey’s Fun Wheel” A.K.A the Ferris wheel, but the line was a mile long.  As a result, we continued on to King Triton’s Carousel.  Again we pretty much walked right onto the ride- I don’t know if we were just lucky or what.  Samuel and Daddy rode a sleek blue tuna fish and Lily and I rode a vibrant pink sea horse.  Oh my, did we love that carousel!  We should have gone again, but we needed to find a place to watch the World of Color show quick.

               We found a nice open spot … right next to a garbage receptacle.  (No wonder it was open, right?)  Well we sat ourselves down and munched on our dinner to pass the time until the show started at 2100 hours (9 PM).  After dinner we still had 40 minutes to burn so AJ took both the kids to ride Ariel’s Under the Sea Adventure again, because it was the closest, enclosed, ride.  They all got back just in time to get comfy next to our trash can to watch the magic!  All I am going to say is … GO SEE THE WORLD OF COLOR SHOW!!!

Let me just say, if you have children and you are planning on going to Cali to visit one of the Disneyland parks, we highly recommend spending most of your time in the California Adventure Park over the Disneyland park.  The lines were WAY shorter, compared to the Disneyland lines; we did WAY more riding rides than standing in lines.  And Samuel actually knew the characters in the California Adventure park. Plus, there is Car’s Land so … it is just better.