Randman's World

I haven't posted in a while, but that's mainly because there's just not that much to say.

Charlie is still doing great with his potty training, although #2 is still a challenge. It will come, though.

Sickness keeps attacking us. Last Saturday was going to be a Daddy and Charlie day at Disney. After Kim left for her girly outing, I started feeling bad. Soon, I felt totally like crap, and knew there was no way I could walk Disney. So, we went to the bouncehouse instead. Charlie had a good time, and I suffered through it.

Kim finally got home at 4:30 p.m., and I told her I was going to take a nap. I woke up the next morning at 8:30 a.m.

We're excited for Halloween. Charlie is going to be an astronaut. He remembers it from last year, and wants to get that candy. He's even memorized the "trick or treat, smell my feet" rhyme.

Work is good. We are definitely tightening out belts, as reservations are down. But, my job really gets busy during tough times.

Other than that, not much exciting. Just waiting to see who our next president will be. Old dude or socialist. Barbie or hairplugs. I try to avoid politics on my blog, but I would just ask everyone to study the candidates, their pasts, their experience and their words. Don't vote for an image or a package. Vote for the person who will best lead the country.

So, we wanted to go out this weekend to celebrate Charlie's potty training. But fate was against us.

I worked from home Thursday video editing, and was so intense that I didn't notice that I was not feeling well until 5:00 p.m. I got up, and noticed I was really hot. I checked my temp, and it was 102.5. Yikes. That was it. I was down for the count.

Kim picks up Charlie, and goes to take him to the mall. At one shop, Charlie leans over onto her, grabs on, and clings to her. That's just something he doesn't do. She brings him home, and he throws up as soon as he gets in the door. His temp? 100.2.

So, Friday comes and goes. I get worse. Charlie isn't eating, and gets tired very quickly.

Saturday. I'm worse. Now, I have a raging sore throat, body aches that can't be controlled with Tylenol, sinus pain that makes my head feel like it's going to explode, and night sweats. Charlie still have a fever, gets tired really easy, and just isn't himself. It's time to go to the doctor. So, I go, figuring that if I have anything bad, we'll have Charlie looked at, as we probably both have the same thing. If it's just a flu, which they don't give you anything for, we'll both ride it out.

Well, it wasn't the flu. I have Strep. Crap. So, we bring Charlie in. And guess what. He doesn't have Strep. He has a stomach bug. I get antibiotics, 800mg Motrin, and some nasal spray. Charlie gets a precautionary script for antibiotics, to fill in case he develops strep.

Sunday, I finally start feeling a bit human again. I'm functioning at about 60%. Charlie is still getting tired, but has a bit more pep. He's still not eating that much.

Hopefully, we'll be better tomorrow, and can return to normal life. Two weekends in a row being cooped up in the house, missing the beautiful Florida fall weather sucks!

And a thousand kisses to my wife, for being the best nurse to her two sick men.

Charlie is potty trained. I cannot believe we did it. Last weekend, we did the "3 Day Potty Training" method with Charlie. It's from a mom, who figured out a way, with her children, that seemed to work.

After all of our stresses and failures (we've tried everything that everyone has ever told us, from M&M's as a reward, to putting Cheerios in the toliet as a target), and nothing worked. So, we were sceptical, but the approach didn't seem like it would do any harm. We learned about it from our neighbor, who had just trained her 2 year old (Brody) with it. So we tried.

3 days of potty training boot camp! First, we threw all the diapers away. We let him do it. That cemented that there was no going back (for both of us). Then, constant attention to Charlie, always watching for him to be pottying in his underware. A quick walk to the bathroom, a non-scolding attitude, and a reminder to keep his underware dry and to tell us when he needed to go potty.

First day, about 20-25 accidents. But, that was to be expected. But the real encouragement was that he actually did peepee on the potty one time. To say we were ecstatic is an understatement. It was a first for us. So, we knew that this had a chance.

The second day, only 2 accidents, and about 6 potty trips. He still wasn't telling us verbally, but would grab at his underware, which told me he needed to go.

The third day, no accidents at all. We were so excited we went to dinner. At the restaurant, Charlie started trying to climb over me. I kept putting him back, but then he finally said, "I need to go potty". A quick run to the bathroom, and we had another first. A verbal decleration. WOOHOO!

And, each night, Charlie stayed dry. Amazing. Then came the big test, daycare. And guess what, NO ACCIDENTS! His teachers were so happy for him.

At our church small group, everyone knew we have been battling the potty training. So, when Charlie came in from his playgroup, went to the bathroom, and walked out, everyone applauded so loudly. The look of pride and delight on his face was so precious, it still makes me smile.

So, if you or anyone you know needs potty training help, try this book. It's amazing how it worked.

Here is the new Bond film theme. Jack White and Alicia Keys.

What were they thinking? This is horrible. The song is bad, the production quality
sounds like it was recorded in someone's garage, the horns sound like a high school band was used, and the vocals are frequently pitchy.

I hope the film is better than this.



EDIT: Yes, it's Jack White, not Jack Black. I can only agree with Steve that if Jack Black had done the theme, it would have been more entertaining.