Soother, binky, dummy, doh-doh, pacifier, or sooie (sue - e) as we call it.Either way, they are no longer used in The House of Me. Carter has been nearly two weeks Sooie free in preparation for his move up to the Jr. Pre-school class at daycare. Surprisingly, it was not as difficult to get him over it as we had initially thought it would be.

Nights where he would NOT sleep without Sooie. Nights of screaming and crying and carrying on while we withheld the wondrous sucking apparatus. That’s what I envisioned. I was terrified to try and start the extraction process, but it seems that we’ve let it run it’s course and he no longer asks for it. Simple as that.

As you scoff at me and the simplicity of the situation, I’ll let you in on what we did - completely un-choreographed.

One day I put him down for nap sans Sooie. He kept insisting for it, not wailing and carrying on as I suspected he might, but insisting nonetheless. I had no idea where a single Sooie was and just didn’t want to look for one because I’m so damn lazy. I told him that I would look for one and be right back.

I lied.

I just left and didn’t return.

He fell asleep.

Following Christmas holidays, when Carter returned to daycare, they didn’t have one there for him. At nap time they simple told him; “Mommy forgot to send one today.” and so he put his little head down and slept.

No qualms.

There has been no request since.

Don’t hate me just yet, it’s just luck I think. The next kid will be a complete nightmare.

For those that don’t do the transition as well as Carter has (so far) there are other rituals that parents may follow to empower their children to feel as though they are the ones making the decision to forego the soother.

One thing that I learned about, which I thought was totally fun! and awesome! was the Pacifier Tree in Denmark.

The Pacifier Tree, originally uploaded to Flickr by peff.

There is a tree where children come with their parents to give their Sooies to the Pacifier Fairy - a kind of closure for the children I suppose.

What have you done to get your little one to give up the pacifier?

Look for the follow up in a couple days where I’ll tell you about MY transition from thumb sucking.

I still remember it well, since it wasn’t that long ago.

Hey hey, I’m back. Depressed to be back, but I’m here. In the real world, sitting at my desk, debating whether or not I should open my work email and see what’s been happening while I basked in the the glorious sun of Myrtle Beach for two weeks.

We’ve scheduled our trip and booked the room for next year already. I can’t tell you how much we loved it there. Carter was an absolute angel the whole time and even in the car! I couldn’t believe it. I totally have to dry hump the leg of the Portable DVD player Inventor because without that thing Carter would have lost his mind strapped into that car seat for as long as he was.

Pictures are to come. I haven’t had time to download the card yet, but oh, there will be pictures.

I feel so far out of the loop in the blog world. The time I had away from the computer was a Godsend though. It was so freeing and wonderful not to think about having to post something or what stats are like. Plus, having the wonderful blogsitters that were here made it all the more relaxing knowing my place was in good hands. I hope you enjoyed their company and everyone played nice. Take a break. It’s liberating I tell you. You should try it some time.

Now on to more important news.

I’ve re-designed this site slightly (as you may have noticed if you’re not in a reader) since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Pink is the new brown for Temporarily Me this month. All in the name of a great cause for some wonderful women who have fought a brave battle against this horrible, horrible disease. With one person in particular who has brought Breast Cancer to the fore front and has done everything she can to educated more people. I applaud her. She’s in the midst of the fight of her life and she still takes time to educate more of us. Amazing. Truly Amazing woman.

I challenge you to make some changes. Go Pink for October. Support Breast Cancer Awareness.

Speaking of re-designs. Temptation Designs has also had a face lift, and I say it was way past due. I’ve been working on it for months trying to squeeze it in between client’s designs, vacation, work, etc. But I took some much needed time yesterday (while I cleared my brain and prepared for real work) to finish it up and get it live. Go take a look around.

I’m also taking orders for the end of October and November if you’re interested!

:::

As part of the Parent Bloggers Network, I’ve been waiting and waiting to complete my very first review, and it’s now up!!! If you’re interested, pop by my review site and take a look! Yay for my first review as part of PBN!

:::

You didn’t think that was all the news, did you… because this would be pretty damn lame now wouldn’t it?

It’s more then just a movie title in the House of Me. *wink*

“Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” Right? Right? Can I hear an “Amen!” from my peoples out there in mommybloggerland?!

My name is Megan and I write usually totally non-cliche mommyblogger stuff over on Velveteen Mind. However today, today my friend Sam’s friends, I’m gonna hafta go all mommyblogger on your asses. Yep, it’s just one of those days.

Last night, while poking random keys on my keyboard, knowing I needed to go to sleep but not being able to commit to the idea, I glanced over at my more or less hidden-under-to-do-lists calendar and noticed that I was slated to guest blog over here at the utterly beautiful temporarily me. Damn. I totally forgot. That’s not like me. Especially because I was psyched to play in Sam’s sandbox for a day, even if she wasn’t going to be here to play with me. How could I forget?

I am full of good intentions. Bursting with fantastic ideas. Overflowing with inspiration! Yet I lack follow-through. I embrace procrastination. I am brimming with excuses and distractions waiting to be indulged.

Deep down, I’m a powerhouse writer and Super Mommy. Housewife Extraordinaire! The next big thing to hit your computer screen and join the league of Ladies Who Launch!

Unfortunately, it’s sometimes tough to get down to that deep-down powerhouse through all of the crap in the way.

Perfect example– Take a look at this here book I bought a million months ago. Momfidence! by Paula Spencer. I’ve been trying to finish reading this book for a looooong time now. It’s not that I can’t read quickly, no, I can devour a book in hours flat. Nope, it’s that I can never find this book within my own home. If it’s not hidden under a pile of laundry, toys, or art supplies, then it is up on a shelf drying out from the latest drink to have been spilled on it.

Today, it magically appeared on our train table. That’s bits of dried Play-Doh you see, along with a dinosaur magnet, empty glitter glue pen, and a (probably incredibly old) Gerber Puff. Nice, right? Yeah, well, we live here.

Momfidence! is full of great ideas. Full of inspiration. Full of perspective. Momfidence! is also covered in strawberry milk. Pages stuck together with glitter glue. Buried under the giant jigsaw puzzle we just bought (what dimwit had the good idea to buy a giant jigsaw puzzle here? for toddlers?). Momfidence! is smeared with jelly. Smells a bit like a dirty diaper that was plopped on top of it by a distracted mother. And all but unread.

I am Momfidence! I am a book with torn covers and warped pages. And I love it.

The tagline for my blog at Velveteen Mind is “Relish the Velveteen. Revel in the Threadbare.” I live that every day.

I relish the moments when my brain is firing at capacity, when my focus is sharp, when my attention is brilliantly shone on my children, when no one is wrestling or pinching or spilling or falling into sharp objects. When kisses are given unbidden by sweet baby lips. When the velveteen is plush and clean and lovely.

But those things usually only happen on days when the moon aligns with Jupiter or some such nonsense that I can’t count on nor begin to understand or anticipate.

So I revel in the threadbare. My velveteen is not always plush and clean. Sometimes it is sticky and matted. But that means it has been touched. It means it has been loved by busy hands that don’t hesitate to grab and squeeze before washing off the evidence of toddler life.

I revel in the threadbare. My velveteen may not always look lovely to you. You may be distracted by the threadbare patches. You might wonder why I don’t take the time to mend those threadworn spots. But I invite you to touch those, too. There you will find the threads of motherhood. The foundation on which all of this lovely velveteen can cling and build up and shine.

Why should I fuss over the threadbare? Why should I hide it? Why should I fix it?

I want you to know that I am real. I want you to know that I have been loved. I want you to know that I am loved. I want you to know that you are welcome to love me, too. Touch me. You can’t break me. My foundation is strong. I can hold you. I can hold all that you can bring to me. I can hold all that you are.

My velveteen will not always be plush and lovely, but it will be loved. I have a lifetime of spilled milk, smeared jelly, and stinky messes ahead of me. Sometimes I clean them up, sometimes I don’t. I am a book with torn covers and warped pages. I am a mom with tousled hair and sticky-finger-stained clothing. I am a mom with lively toddlers who live out loud. They run. They fall. They play. They hug. They spill. They smear. They yell. They kiss. They sing.

And sometimes I sing with them while cleaning up those messy bodies. Particularly when I think no one is listening. This is me, threadbare. Revel with me.

* * * * * * * * *

Bath Street’s Back! Wash Your Bahday!

Okay, I can’t get the video to load, so here’s the link above.

For the first time in Carter’s short, yet very active life, I’m a single parent. Mike’s been summoned to a job out of town where he must stay overnight, leaving me alone. With Carter. To take care of everything.

Did I mention that Carter and I are on vacation for 2 weeks starting Friday? Driving 16 HOURS with a Toddler and Grandparents.

Jeebus, what am I thinking!?

That’s three weeks with no “help”; sure there’s The Grandparents, but what good are they for real parenting? Grandparents only spoil grandkids any chance they get, even letting them get away with murder. I have to referee that too. Alone. I’m out numbered!

I don’t know if I’m cut out for this.

Sure, sure… to the moms that do it on a regular basis, even with more then one child, I am totally blowing everything out of proportion. I see that. But I’m sure you were a little timid about the idea of being the sole caregiver your first time too, so give a sista a break. M’Kay?

See, Mike and I are tag team parents. Divide and conquer. Alone, I have no divide, how can I conquer? When the going gets tough, I can’t run and hide, I have to pony up and take the challenge head on.

Me scared.

Shitless.

And only a little pissed off when I think about the fact that this week Mike gets to finish work, take a nice long relaxing shower, have a peaceful dinner, then spend his evening playing XBox - in a quiet and clean hotel room.

But! He’s working to make us money; and how can I fault a guy that’s bought groceries and even took his time to pre-make meals for his inept wife that can’t (or won’t) cook a decent meal for her self and her child.

Oh! I wanted to thank you all for your great comments on my pity post. It’s really comforting to know that there are other women who can relate. So, thank you! *kisses*