Thought on a Thursday - Picture Day

 

This is Bella's first school picture that she actually posed for all by herself. Its hard to believe that the same time last year she refused to take the school picture at all. We were only able to get a small class picture with her shining face as a small dot and now look at her! I am one proud mama!

Dear sixteen year old self,

Can you believe you are now 32? Have two daughters, a husband, a house, and the VW?

Me at 16 with my friend Winston

I know it seems far fetched because you are in the mist of a melt down. You will get help and medication for what you are finding out from your biological father about a chemical imbalance in your brain called Bi-Polar Mania. The medication will make things better, but our mom will not.

When you are 18, she will call the cops and have them place you under a 5150, though its hard for the doctors to find out what is wrong with you after the first 12 hours of being there. Some of them think our mom should be in here, not you. When you get back to your home, your mother is there with a restraining order not to go near her or your childhood home. All of this at the start of your last year in high school, how rude right?

You do graduate from Skyline High School with top honors. Both the Future Teachers and Preforming Arts magnate completions and honor roll cords. I think we were the first person to do such a thing in the schools history. I doubt that few will remember, but we will!

It took us a few more years to complete college than we had hoped. 1 year in City College and 5 years in San Francisco State University. You met a few friends, laughed and tried so hard to shed the awkwardness about you by reinventing yourself a few times. However it seemed not to work and the self doubt haunts you even to this day. 

You did get a job at the PlayStation Store San Francisco in the Metreon. Yup you get into video games. You actually meet your husband there, however don't know it yet, and meet another guy that will break your heart into a million pieces and runs back to Michigan. So when you see a tall handsome, blond hair, blue eyed guy that is just as shy, RUN AWAY! 

A few years later when you're about to turn 27, our mother dies and you lose your childhood home to fore-closer. You have days from when you find out that she has died to when they take it away, to prioritize the things that you want to take with you and the things you will never see again. And those decisions still haunt you till this day.

A year latter you get married and another year after that your first daughter is born. Bella is a great little girl and brings mountains of joy. So in 2011 you try once again and you have another daughter Grace and you decide to give her our mother's middle name as hers. 

Please do not be scared as this is even over whelming to your 32 year old self. Just know that you do not become what your mother has told you, however the bit about the girls were right. 

You are not crazy, you do become loved by yourself, and you are loved by others.

Paying out of pocket for potty training

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Assorted_United_States_coins.jpg 

This is what we have decided to do about potty training. Pay her in coins. Its bribery, clear and simple. I mean that's what parents do at this age, bribe them with something that they want. Usually a Skittles or M&M's, small candies that get kids to do their business for cheep and small sugar highs. 

Me and my husband don't let my daughter eat that many sugary treats, we are realists and know that she will have a sweet tooth and buy what she wants some day, but I didn't want her first thrills be revolving around candy. I know it works for most kids, however its different for us. 

We decided to pay her the loose change around the house for a potty reward. After all its a good start to get excited about money. This is the break down of what we are giving her:

$.05 for telling us she needs to use the potty

$.10 for just sitting on the potty

$.25 for going pee pee

$.50 for poo poo

A total of $.65 if she does all the above

Once she has completed this we wash hands and then hand her the amount she's earned and she places it in her piggy bank for the future.

The thing we need to do is tell every one in the family what we are doing this so we can be consistent with this instead of wavering from one reward system or to another. 

Are there any other tricks of potty training that I am not doing for my daughter? Please let me know!