Potty training

Meg has been training herself to use the toilet. I love that I spent years trying to get Andy interested, forcing him into underpants (and forcing myself to clean up and/or throw away disgusting boys underwear) while Meg pretty much decided she was ready and went for it. It's not perfect and it's not done yet, but for the past two weeks, she's been going to school in big girl underwear. Last week, she even came home four days out of five wearing the same shorts/skirts I dropped her off wearing. So how do you like that?

Things are calming down into a workable rhythm. We have a schedule for drop offs and pick ups and the  kids have been settling into more regular sleep patterns. It's not perfect, but it sure beats the summer where I was ready to throw myself out of a window because it was so chaotic.

We're also settling into some nice rich guy problems, like how to make use of this enormous house? It's so much bigger than our old place that I'm struggling with the right way to arrange things. Like the kitchen. It's so big, I am not sure where to put everything so that I don't have take 30 steps just to make toast in the morning. We also have this pool to worry about. Bjorn and Mark have been good about learning how it works, how to keep it clean and the chemicals needed to maintain it. That said, fall is definitely coming and the amount of leaves that fall into the pool and need to get cleaned seems to double each day. I know, nice rich guy problems.

We've still got some decisions to make. The backyard is pretty much off limits to the kids by themselves due to the pool. That means I've got the kids practically under my feet while trying to make dinner. I need to think about some fencing strategy in the backyard or some better way to let them play in the garage unsupervised. I also managed to get rid of all my ride on and other outdoor toys so I need to be on the hunt for some cheap plastic objects, like scooters and/or a sand box. All good stuff for me to hunt for at the thrift store.

I am pleased how well we're getting there though. I still miss our friends and family back home, but it's wonderful getting to see my family (and extended) family more often as well as old friends while trying to mix in new friends. Like I said, boring rich girl problems!