Home Ec

Jeff and I have decided to explore our inner pioneer by taking a stab at making many of our own household items and food. We weren't comfortable with the idea that we didn't know how to make some of the most simple cleaning items or basic foods. So we got out the horse and carriage and ventured down educational trail....via the Internet and my new bible "Making It, Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World."

You can't believe how easy it is to make your own tooth paste or all purpose cleaner! It turns out, if you have baking soda and vinegar you are 90% of the way there. I am having a blast creating my own products that I know are safe and effective. No chemicals and they are about an 1/8 of the cost. I usually spend $4.99 on one tube of toothpaste, but not anymore!!! Today, I made a toothpaste from baking soda and peppermint essential oil for about .50 cents. Brady says his breath is fresher than ever and he plans on going on a kissing tour to truly test the product. Today alone we've made toothpaste, grainless granola (paleo crunch), kiefer, polishing paste and peppermints.

Thanks to a wonderfully warm spring we have already enjoyed several of own radishes and turnips. Our little plot of land at the community garden is growing like crazy. Beautiful greens are popping up everywhere. There is no better feeling than eating something you have grown yourself. Brady has been a fantastic farmer. He planted our crop of snap peas and is the official water boy. Mallory is more interested in chasing the ally cat around. She has yet to develop her green thumb.

All of this really comes down to trying to become more self sufficient, independent and knowledgeable. All things Brady says he has had in the bag since birth.

Deck Hand

Last week Jeff and Grandpa D embarked on a major DIY project. Our front porch and back deck stairs were literally falling apart and in desperate need of love. The glorious privilege of living in an older home is that it provides many opportunities to give your inner Norm Abram a whirl. Well Norm step aside because Jeff and Darrel outdid themselves with the help of a mini forewoman named Mallory. This girl is tough. She sited them on 19 different OSHA violations, one of which is pictured above. Yeah! That's right, Mr. safety forgot his protective eye gear while operating the drill. She slammed him with a fine that happens to equate 4 years of college. Well played my dear, well played.

Thank you Grandpa D for all of your help. We greatly appreciate it.

Vanilla

I have sat down to blog about 15 times this week. Typing and then quickly deleting. Not that life doesn't provide a bounty of topics worthy of a post, but they haven't felt significant enough to type.

I think that single fact is significant enough. When I started this blog 3 1/2 years ago everything seemed post-worthy, every smile, laugh, bath turd or first step. It was all documented. Now that we have settled into this world of parenting, where somewhere deep behind the scenes lives an extra chromosome, life has become vanilla. It's a good thing, a very good thing. The extremes of Brady's first 12 months of life have melted like butter on a perfect piece of toast. There are so many days...weeks that I forget about Down syndrome. If you have ever had the pleasure of spending any amount of time with Mr. B you know what I'm talking about.

I have no idea what the future holds for us, but if it's anything like our current state I'll take 3 scoops. Brady will take his with a side of cookies.

Potty

The early onset of summer has provided another form of potty training. The glorious outdoors are Brady's new potty chair. He loves nothing more than dropping his shorts and "watering" the lawn. Inside Brady prefers to sit on the pot because standing provides a whole lot of additional challenges, which mostly involve peeing on his pants and almost everything else within a 10ft radius...including Mallory. Outside, Brady has exceptional  precision and agility. I'm impressed that he can throw a ball, "water" the hostas and eat a cookie all at the sametime. Good'ol Mother Nature turns our boy into the pee master.

Potty training Mr. B as been a long process, but I have found that Jeff and I also need to be trained. Brady still isn't the best at telling us he needs to go BEFORE he actually goes. This requires us to be on the ball and to take B-man to the toilet every 30ish minutes. Obviously, we forget... a lot. Therefore, Brady ends up with a wet pullup aka a diaper for toddlers. As of late Brady has been doing better and we are proud of his progress.

He is extremely fond of dancing in his birthday suit......in front of the mirror( a sight that will make your belly ache with laughter). I've used this self admiration to our advantage and moved the potty chair in whatever room he is in. I've found that eliminating the step of actually leaving his "dance" studio has made him more willing to use the potty on his own. I don't have to help him at all. He just shimmy and shakes his way over to the potty, does his business and then mambas his way back to the mirror. So far this morning he has been in underwear and has only had 1 accident.

My list of things that have been working:
1. Naked- or only underwear
2. Pee outside
3. Make sure the potty chair is close by him
4. Modeling- involve him when other kids are using the potty- school and playdates
5. Go often
6. Visual ques to remind him of potty process- provided by his speech therapist.

My goal is to have him potty trained by his birthday. So far he is well on his way!!! YEAH Brady!

Next up....Mallory.