Public elementary/Private High School
 

I was all public. Based on that experience and my ability to see clearly that the entrenched teachers' unions have destroyed our nation's public school system, my kids will be all-private.

I'd sooner suck Hillary Clinton's dick than send my kids to public school. YMMV.

Potty Training
 

I'll go one further: do without the potty seat. This was the best advice I got. I have a stool (she said stool!) and Vietbabe loves to push it over to the potty and although she is the TEENIEST of babies (with practically no behind at all) she does fine balancing herself with hand/arm clutching each side of the toilet. She's been potty trained since about 18 months but that's probably b/c she is a girl and has been in daycare since potty training age (they really do a great job getting all the kids to "potty down" as they call it). I never appreciated how convenient the no pottyseat/kiddypotty is until I saw a friend's bathroom riddled with pottyseats, cushion things, etc. As far as a children's toilet -- horror!! I would rather them crap in the diaper -- at least you can throw the whole diaper out.

Public elementary/Private High School
 

Well, mine is a union-free school district so . . .

Public elementary/Private High School
 

Are the teachers potty-trained?

Potty Training
 

My oldest was trained by age 3 and has NEVER had an accident. He took a little longer with #2 (he would ask for a diaper and poo, then ask to be changed), but when we told him there were no more diapers, he went on the potty. The youngest is about to turn 3 and has no interest (and shows no signs of developing an interest) in using the toilet. Frankly, I don't know what to do about it.

Potty Training
 

Wouldn't you know, the ONLY thing that the younger one doesn't imitate is the going-on-the-potty thing. The one thing I want him to copy, and he has no interest. If his brother is standing at the potty peeing, he'll stand there too, but so far, he's gone pee in the potty exactly once.

Potty Training
 

Later we find out the bathroom training was hampered because his underwear were too tight.

Public elementary/Private High School
 

Yes. Love it.

Also, celery with cream cheese, and raisins dotted on top of the cream cheese is a good preschool snack to bring in for the kids (as you will be dragooned into bringing "healthy snack" or some such thing for the whole class a few times a year).

Shots suck ass.
 

It's pure torture - for both of us. Whaaah.

And, he is a confirmed fattie - 15lbs even at just under 2mos. Just as chubby, but not so tall as #1.

Shots suck ass.
 

The Weedlet just got her 5-year-old shots, three of them, and was inconsolable from the moment we walked into the office, cried through the examination by the very friendly doctor who she wouldn't speak to except to sob "I don't want a shot!" and wouldn't stop sniffling or say a word until we ate some spaghetti at Vinny's of Carroll Gardens, which she pronounced "the best spaghetti [she] ever ate." Vinny would be so proud. No more shots until she's twelve, or so I am told.

Shots suck ass.
 

The toddler was rather distraught by the shot paraphernalia coming out until it the baby got stuck with it. And I quote, by my smiling babe, "Beebee, whaa whaa whaa!"*

*Translation: Wow, it must suck to be the baby!

Shots suck ass.
 

Wow. I had one that was 15 lbs at 16 months.

Shots suck ass.
 

The 6 yo got several shots at her last annual and was howling. At one point the 2 1/2 yo, jumped up and screamed at the doctor, "hey teacher, stop hurting my sistah" and proceded to try to take out the doctor at the knees.

Shots suck ass.
 

No tears for my girls. Their tempers make them very tough.

Soupette #1 never cried during her shots, but would get almost uncontrollably pissed at everyone in the room. The doctor even remarked, "Holy crap, I've never seen a kid so pissed-off before".

Soupette #2 just glares at the doctor as if to say "Is that the best you got?"

Shots suck ass.
 

You need to buy a Shotblocker and it will solve all your problems. Cheap little device that uses tactile feel to confuse the nerves and make shots much less painful.

Proud moment
 

My oldest daughter's very first recorded joke came last year -- from completely out of the blue.

She was strapped into her car seat, and my Mom gets in the back of the car with her as I head to the front. As I'm closing the door, I see my her lean over to Grandma, and I hear her say "Daddy made a poopy diaper." (Followed by much giggling.) She wasn't 2 yet.

BTW -- I did not provoke that humour with any unfortunate emissions.

She's in pre-school now -- which is just completely ridiculous (that I have a child in school).

S_A_M

Proud moment
 

When the baby emits (which is often), the toddler likes to point and yell "Baby Poo-Poo!!!" God help us if he's around an adult in public and the same thing happens - I can just see him pointing to some old man and yelling "Man* Poo-Poo!!!"

-TL

*Actually men are all referred to as Dada's, unless they are in a book and then they are men. All women, fictional or otherwise, are Mamas.

Proud moment
 

All unknown men are "man". Recently, at Best Buy, the Brazenette walked up to a sales guy, tugged on his pants and said "Man, I need a new washing machine." It is scary to note that my daughter has no "wants" and only "needs".

All unknown women are "lady" which makes me think instantly of Jerry Lewis.

Rec needed
 

Hello Mums and Dads:


I need a recommendation for a gift. A certain uber intelligent young fellow is turning 4 soonly and I need to get him something. He is apparently into dinosaurs, race cars and rescue heroes. Any suggestions?

Rec needed
 

A toy dinausaur, race car or rescue hero?

Get him a dinosaur book that you think is too old for him. He'll grow into it in about a month.

Or, if you want to be really cool (in his eyes), get him one of these (not saying it's age appropriate):

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Robo Raptor Also available at Target, I noticed last week.

(The picture doesn't do it justice. It's pretty amazing. And big.)

Rec needed
 

aw shit. I wish I caught this post before I ordered some dinosaur toys by imaginext or something. Oh well. Maybe CHristmas.

Or maybe I will make a donation in his name to the Human Fund. Money for Humans.

Thanks

Shots suck ass.
 

Well, depends on how many shots you do, what she looks like and how good you are at doing it.

Shots suck ass.
 

I googled some nice sales pitches for that thing. A helthy markup to boot, $5 for $.05 worth of plastic. The packaging proably cost more. I'd have no hesitation to buy if it weren't for the fact that it doesn't work.

I'm just as happy to let the little pip scream, and glad I held onto my earplugs from the bar exam...

Four Board Books That Totally Suck Ass

Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman
Hopper's Easter Surprise, by Marcus Pfister
Big Red Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown [!]
I Love You Little One, by Nancy Tafuri

One That, Despite Expectations, Does Not

Jamberry, by Bruce Degnan

Creepiest Book Evah

Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch

Big Red Barn improves slightly after the 7 millionth reading aloud. Hopper's Easter Surprise - always lame.

Worst slightly older book: Go Dog, Go.

I don't intend to find out. Such a huge disappointment from the same woman who wrote Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Besides, big red barns are way cool; why does a book about one suck ass? Enduring mystery of the 20th century.

I actually do not like The Runaway Bunny, though I love the illustrations. Reading TBRB a zillion times was not my choice. Much in the same way as it was not my choice to be able to recite from memory The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but I'm pretty close to being able to do that.

How could you possibly leave Pat the Bunny off of a list of ass-sucking board books?

Suckier illustrations as well.

The authorship is nearly as misleading as Genesis's for its Calling All Stations album.

My father can still recite The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Poky Little Puppy. After 25 years. He said to me a couple of weeks ago during a visit "Jesus, haven't they written anything new lately?"

The baltspawn also like the Sandra Boynton books, especially Barnyard Dance.

A couple of new books the baltspawn have taken to:
Knuffle Bunny : A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

One Afternoon by Yumi Heo

I hate those Boynton books, too. But Barnyard Dance is marginally better than Pajama Time (ooh, yeah, it's Pajama Time!). But again, it's not my call.

Thanks for the recs for new options - I could use some.

I think I missed the suck-ass board-book discussion, but how did Are You My Mother get on that list? (I've never seen it in board-book format, but whatever.) That book is cute, dammit!

But that one about Love You Forever is indeed creepy as all get-out. It's a little surprising, because that author has some good books ("More Pies" is springing to mind.)

Is there a pie-eating contest involved? If so, what is the prize?

If your kid is a bit of a nut:

http://trashotron.com/agony/images/2...lves_walls.jpg

Highly Recommended. I've bought it for many little squirrels.

I really liked Gaiman's Coraline (and pretty much everything else Gaiman has ever written), which I think he wrote for maybe the 12 year old set.

Incidently, is anyone else thinking about re-reading the Narnia books in preparation for the movie? I haven't been as exicted about a preview in years.

You know, amazingly enough, yes. You'll have to read the book to find out what the prize is.

http://www.scholastic.ca/titles/muns...repies_lrg.jpg

Um, to what end? To spot inconsistencies? For backstory? To assure ourselves that Aslan is, indeed, a representation of babyjesus?

Although I am glad to see that since my childhood they have properly reordered the sequence to reflect a correct chronology, so that the Magician's Nephew now comes first.

Geez. Just for the anticipation.

I bought them all and reread them toward the end of 2004 and then gave the set to a nephew. Perhaps I will rereread at Christmas. Just for fun, not because of the movie.

The Magician's nephew is kind of creepy. I don't know if it is more or less creepy than Love You Forever.

Well, just cuz they're good books and any excuse to reread is welcome.

nc,s & RT - great, thank you!

And yes, I'm pulling out Narnia (for me and for the littles). I just bought a somewhat reduced version to read to my 4-year-old before I launch into the full book. We've done full-length books before (Wiz of Oz, Alice, Cinderella), but I wanted to whet the appetite first.