Post 62 - On Potty Training Little Hipster

So last weekend, Little Hipster's parents decided it's time for some serious potty training time.

The plan was to wait until a long weekend, then just stick her in big girl undies and see what happens.  Here's the report from her parents (they handled everything from Friday through Monday):  Friday... lots of accidents.. like pretty much all day.  Saturday...significant improvement.  A few accidents but nothing too terrible.  Sunday and Monday... practically no accidents.  #1 was a breeze.  #2? Not so much.  Every day produced a "near miss" but the "#2 In The Potty" victory dance eluded everyone.  As you do when using the big potty is a new thing.

Yesterday I arrived on the scene and was instantly apprised of the effort's progress, then given the locale of the 30 pairs of new, big girl pants, info on where to put the "didn't quite make it" undies in the event of an accident, and instructions for how to proceed in the event of successful potty time.  Check.  For the most part, it was a great day.....with several (and I mean sev-er-al) trips to the bathroom.  But alas, failure at #2.  I blame myself.  Okay, really, I blame her - she's the one who pooped in her pants, not me - but she knows I love her so meh! No big deal!

Anyway, here we are, Day 2 of me leading the potty training ops and I am happy to report we have successfully completed our mission!  #2 Victory!  Yes!  As I shouted, "Go, Little Hipster, you are amazing!  OOT-OOT!" I swear she said back to me, "Yay!  oontz-oontz-oontz!"

Post 61 - Sometimes It's About The Message...

...and not the "level of talent."  Alright, I'll admit it.  When it comes to music, I can be a bit of a snob.  I'm not particularly proud of that fact, but there it is.  And with all of the talent shows that have cropped up on television... sometimes I roll my eyes at what is deemed "talent" by the audiences or over the networks' blatant whoring of contestants' sob stories.  And then I saw this guy on The X Factor.  Emmanuel Kelly.  He sang the song, "Imagine."  Now, to just listen to his voice, you think, "Okay.  Not bad.  Not great but he can carry a tune and he's got decent tone quality." But then you hear his story.

Emmanuel and his brother were born in Iraq.  Limbs blown off when they were just tiny little guys, they were left for dead until someone took them to a nearby orphanage.  His beginnings in life were more horrific than any of us can possibly imagine.  So I will gladly take my heaping helping of STFU and remember that everyone has a song in his or her heart and being a winner isn't about who's got the most controlled vibrato or who can hold a note the longest.  It's about sharing what's in your heart with the world and making a difference. And here he is, Emmanuel Kelly, singing John Lennon's song about world peace, "Imagine":