Stupid, stupid autoflush

Monday morning, Sascha woke up and decided to potty train herself. She refused to teetee in her pullup and was doing awesome! We were all laughing that only Sascha would potty train herself this quickly and stubbornly. Then came the kicker request, "Mommy!! I need to go poopoo in the potty!!"

You should know that we were in the car.

You should also know that I have a really big phobia of public restrooms-only use them when I HAVE too and hate taking our kids in them because they touch everything.

Lucky for us, Josh was also in the car and he wheeled into the first available public facility. They rushed to the potty with anticipation only a parent of four ready to kiss diapers goodbye forever can. He sat her down, ready to cheer for poopoo as only a parent....well you get the idea!

But before the blessed event could happen.....

SWOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The autoflush flushed and scared the ..... well, actually,!it scared the you know what back into her!

And she is done. When we put her on the potty now, she cries and says, "NO! Potty scary!!"

Thank you autoflush for an indefinite number of diapering days ahead.

Heard at Casa Bass

Tru: Mommy, did you know the day you die is one of the best days of your life because you get to go see Jesus?!

Bo: (after getting a diet dr. pepper) Mommy, I yuv my drink!

Sascha: (when her car seat got moved to the back row of the burb)Mommy, I LOVE it back here!

Caroline: If I didn't have dance, I would be so lonely!

Well of course she does

We joined the pool this week. It is an amazingly fun and perfect pool for us because of the variety of activities it offers. There is a shallow and sprinkle area for the younger 2, a deeper swimming spot and big slides and diving boards for Caroline and Tru (and, let's be honest, Josh and I too!).

It's a little bit of a drive to get to, but once we are there, everyone is happy for hours.

Ahhhh. Summer contentment.

(Well, not today, because Tru lost the pool privilege, which means I lost the pool privilege. Boo on him.)

So, Tuesday we loaded up, suited up, and drove out to sign up. We pulled into the parking lot and I realized that I had forgotten Bo and Sascha's floaties. BUGGER. The good news is, the shallow end is shallow enough and fun enough that they were quite happy.

The questionable news is . . . Sascha was pretty happy to be without her floaties. She loved going under the water and didn't seem to mind swallowing half of the pool or needing a parental rescue every 2 1/2 minutes. She will be jumping off the diving board before Tru.

So . . . in answer to the question does she love to swim? Absolutely.

Does she still scream bloody murder when I rinse her hair out in the bathtub?

Well of course she does.

Hooligans on parade

Well . . . we tried.

I feel sorry for Caroline and Tru because back when Bo was a baby and before Sascha was born, I was Mommy on the spot! School party? I'm there! Presentation or special moment? You betcha! Lunch at school at least once a month? No problem.

Now days . . . School party? Our contribution is in the backpack. Presentation or special moment? Let me know how it went. Lunch at school? ONCE ALL YEAR.

"Why?" you ask.

Because these two lovable hooligans are not suitable for public consumption.

They are loud and unruly . . . likely to break doors at Target . . . not afraid to RUN . . . boogers.

I love them.

A lot.

I even find them precious and endearing sometimes.

But do I ever WANT to take them out in public? Do I look forward to school events where I end up having to take them?

To both questions I say, "NOOOOOOO!"

In time, hopefully, prayerfully, we are totally trying and discipliningly, they will be enjoyable to be around outside of our home and will learn to whisper and sit still and not feel like they should grab as many perceivable "nonos" as possible and run away from me.

Until then, I apologize to Tru and his first grade class.

It could've been worse.

She could have pulled the tablecloth all the way off the table along with the cupcakes. She could've taken the markers and written on the smart board. She could have destroyed the computers.

And maybe everyone but Tru and I thought it was cute that she wanted to help him present his report on bats.

Dancing queen

This weekend was FULL. F.U.L.L. FULL.

It was wonderful and bittersweet and sometimes just plain sad. (But more on that later.)

This was a big dance weekend. Rock City Dance Center had its first recital. Y'all. Mrs. Kristen and Ms. Kaitlin (and of course Mr. John David) have done an AMAZING job with this studio. If you are looking for somewhere to enroll your kids for dance in Little Rock . . . STOP LOOKING!

Let's be honest for a minute. We have established that I am NOT an athlete . . . have I confessed that I am also NOT a dancer?

All my life I wanted to be a cheerleader. I would clap and pop and cheer all over the house. My junior year I decided that I wanted to go out with a bang my senior year. By this time I had exhausted all the B team sports available and so I thought, "What the heck?! I'm going to try out for cheerleading!"

Our cheerleaders also did some dancing . . . and some back handsprings . . . and most of them could do a back tuck as well.

I could do some high V's and some low V's and clap crisply.

Clinic was 4 days (Mon-Thurs) and tryouts were on Friday. Monday, I was pumped. We learned the cheers and the dance and Tuesday when we came back, I had the cheers down, but the dance . . . umm, not so much. (And let's not even talk about the back handsprings.) Wednesday, I was getting worried because I was NOT catching on quickly enough. At all. And I didn't want to quit, but I didn't want to look like an idiot either.

Enter a very sweet friend. Fact: high school girls rarely speak the truth in love . . . it's usually spoken in snark to your face or just behind your back. Perhaps there had been some of that as well, but one sweet friend pulled me aside and said, "You know I love you and I think that you are great at lots of things. But I am worried that you are working so hard and struggling to get it and I am afraid of you getting your feelings hurt and being disappointed. I just don't think this is for you."

Relief washed over me. I hugged her and went home. No tears shed. No dent in our friendship.

ALL that to say . . . Caroline didn't get her dance genes from me. She dances all over the house and spins and twirls and leaps and shakes and so dance felt like a good fit for her. We joined some friends who were switching to RCDC and it was one of THE BEST decisions we have made. The girl has confidence and moves! Rock City has this amazing ability to challenge and teach and raise the bar while keeping it fun and encouraging. I'm constantly amazed. They expect their dancers to have character above all.

I just love those people.

So, Saturday I watched 96 dances and (call me a nerd) I loved every minute of it. When you know how much talent plus HARD, HARD work goes into those few minutes of a dance, you can't help but appreciate it.

Congratulations RCDC!! The Basses totally ETJODT!!

Caroline and Mrs. Kristen

Highlights from the first competition in January . . . if you can believe it, they are even better now!!

That's how we roll

There was a drawer FULL of clean silverware . . . but Sascha decided to go a different route with her cutlery . . .

Yep. That's a wrench and it was open to the perfect size for her grapes. The American chopstick, if you will.

Busy busy busy

This week felt like a ride at Disney World. Monday afternoon, as I thought ahead to all I needed to do and where I needed to be, I could hear the slow click, click, click of my week going up the track and then WHOOOOOOOO, up and down and around we have gone.

It has been a really fun week, just non-stop. 

If you are interested in it . . . keep reading. If you, like Josh, prefer the short version where as little facts and details as possible are shared, then you are caught up.

Tuesday . . . the great and amazing Abby came to babysit and, once again, preserved my sanity. I treated myself to a relaxing pedicure at a new salon my friend Robin told me about--loved the place . . . nicer interior, none of the people yelling across the chairs at each other and the price was lower than my usual. Total score. I justified it as summer craziness preparation. Some errands at Target with my sweet Abby H and, then (GULP), I bought Caroline's trunk for camp. 

*Tear* My baby is going to a sleep over camp. 

*Sniff* And she won't let me go with her. 

Ok. I'm fine. Probably. We'll see.

Anyway, that afternoon Tru, Bo, Sascha and I joined Robin (pedicure sharer) and Emily at the pool and swam for almost 2 hours. This is where Sascha debated becoming a mermaid. In the end, she could not deny the call of the ocean (what she calls the pool) and enjoyed swimming in and drinking the water (gag).

Wednesday . . . I went in for (perhaps) my last pre-summer spray tan. (All of the sudden my crazy week is sounding more like a spa week for me. Shhh. Don't tell.) Major came home with us and Bo proceeded to solidify why I don't let him have friends over (and remind me why I should more often). I rewarded his unwillingness to share with a trip to Chik Fil A thinking maybe it was just his toys he was hoarding. Turns out, nope, he felt like the Chik Fil A playground was his too. Sorry, Maj. I was thrilled to take him to Speech Therapy to see Mrs. Lauren! 

Caroline had an orthodontist appointment where we remembered that I need to schedule an appointment with the dentist to get more of her teeth pulled. Bless her. But in a nice twist, we found out that our dental insurance covered almost all of her treatment and we have a CREDIT at the orthodontist office. I felt like I was playing Monopoly and there was a bank error in my favor!!

(Are you still awake?! HANG IN THERE!!)

Thursday . . . talent show at 8:30, doctor's appointment for me at 10:30, and lunch at 12. Fast and furious and fun (well, most of it, I love my doctor, but does anyone really enjoy an appointment?).

I am trying to upload Caroline and Maggie's dance from the school talent show. The whole show was so cute. I especially loved when the kids in the audience would clap or sing along with the performers' songs.  They rocked it out and I am so excited for their recital this weekend! 

Tomorrow is crazy full as well with sweet and fun activities. I keep searching the weeks and days for some down time . . . I'll let you know if I ever find it.

Here is a smidge of the dance . . . can't get it all uploaded yet, but you get the idea (and yes, I cheer loudly at one point . . . sorry):