Domestic Interiors

I cut off all my hair yesterday. Not me, personally, like Deenie (Splendor in the Grass) or Deenie (Judy Blume) but I did ask the nice woman who usually just trims the ends to hack away until her shoulders began to ache. Eight inches gone, maybe nine once you take into account the way the much-shorter strands bounce toward my ears like so many helium filled balloons. Lately my mermaid hair was making me feel less like I was luring sailors to a watery but sexy grave and more like they would need to send the dive team out to try to free the propellers. When your own head starts making you think of red tide it's time for a change.

Patrick said it looks nice. Caroline was curious and said "Har? Har? Har?" a few times while walking around me like she wanted to kick my tires. Edward knows that I don't have tires and therefore I am of limited interest to him. Steve got the most horrible fixed smile on his face when I walked into his office and said, "Oh! My! Look at that! Your hair! Is Shorter!" Steve has always been abnormally attached to my hair so I think it's good for him to adjust to change suddenly. Keeps him young like a week at the seaside.

Patrick cried the first day of school because someone accidentally grabbed his lunch and it took a while to get sorted out. The old Patrick would have probably shrugged and said oh well tra la la but the new Patrick EATS and the threat of going another five hours without sustenance was too much for his delicate system to fathom. It turned out someone in another classroom has his identical lunchbox and took the wrong one by mistake. When Patrick came home and told me the story I mystically channeled an organized crafty mother (was it you? did you feel light-headed on Tuesday and cannot account for thirty minutes from that afternoon?) and I rummaged around in the kitchen junk drawer where I found fabric paint from two Halloweens ago. I added yellow stars and blue galaxies to his lunch sack (Patrick said, critically, "Um, have you ever heard of elliptical galaxies? Yours are all spiral" I said, "Have you ever heard of shut up." Well, I thought it at least.) Problem solved. Then Patrick collided cheek to skull (his cheek, the other kid's skull) while playing tag on day two and he cried again.  

-- Steve is gone tonight so Patrick is sleeping in my bed. I was letting him read in there until ten as a special treat but he just clumped out and very accusingly told me he was turning out the light because he was so tired he couldn't stay awake another second. I was, like, uh, ok? He clumped back again.

Despite the initial setbacks he has declared school thus far to be "not so bad." When I asked him over dinner tonight what his favorite thing at school was he said Gym. When I asked for his second favorite he said Art. This amuses me: Patrick, my arty little jock.

I have book ads up. I think we have collectively been identified as people who might be interested in books and since this is most likely true (and they pay me to run them) I am encouraged by this perception of us. The book being advertised right now is called Three Part Invention and I know nothing about it beyond what I read from the link. Go look. Have you read it? Do you recommend it?  

Caroline is chattering away in her crib. It is 9:45. She went to bed TWO HOURS AGO. I guess she is not technically bothering anybody but who's ever heard of a baby insomniac? What does she do in there for all that time? I heard her last night yakking about something at midnight.

-- She just escalated to crying. I went up and she was very excited to see me.

"Window?" she pointed. I asked if she wanted to look out the window (I'm a sharp one.)

"Yes," she said.

"OK but then back to bed." I took her to look out the window.

"Moon?" she asked. "Tar?"

"No moon tonight. No stars. Too cloudy."

"Cowds," she agreed shaking her little bobblehead.

"Bedtime. Time to sleep. Do you want music?"

"Yes."

So I turned on her music and I gave her another board book, dimmed the lights and left her to it.

I know what you are about to say. I do. You are about to say that we should ix-nay the usic-may and the books. Then she might go to sleep earlier. And you are no doubt correct. But this way they sleep until we wake them up at 8 or 8:30. Edward gets his thirteen hours and Caroline gets her eight and I get my five or six and we are as happy as larks. No. Bad analogy. As happy as a lazier bird altogether. Pigeons maybe.

I cannot get over Caroline's language boom. Like, window? Never heard that from her before, ever. I love it. I love it I love it I love it. Patrick was a total delight and the joy of my heart but he never uttered anything that made any sense for the first two and a half years and it is now so much fun to have a little creature who TALKS. This must be why people get parrots. When my mother was here we got Chinese food one night. I gave Patrick and the twinkles some chicken noodle soup because I am selfish and I didn't want to share the Chinese. Caroline looked at her bowl and then looked at my plate and was, like, oh no no no, I don't think so.

She pointed.

"What? Taste it? Me?" she said in such ringing bell-like tones that Steve and my mother and I goggled at her.

So she got moo shu.

Then Edward said, "Dada doo?"

So Edward got  moo shu too. 

She calls Steve "Dee"; she calls me "Mee"; she calls Edward "Eee". Patrick? He gets both syllables. "Pah-tuh," she says lovingly. But for Caroline herself she really puts in the effort: she is either Ka-ha-hine or Ka-yuh-yine. And sometimes she pats my chest and says Mee (short for mommy I assume) and then pats her own chest and says ME! Like, and don't you forget it.   

Edward has the funniest assortment of words that he says well: otter, tractor, wheel, car, heart, hexagon (hexagon?) more, read it, cracker, one two tree, TV and yes. There are a whole bunch more that he says terribly but I have decided after judicious consideration to give him the benefit of the doubt until he turns two. Unlike a young Patrick he appears to be improving in his speech, albeit much more slowly than other twins in the house. A propos of nothing else: at breakfast today he had his (formerly Caroline's) deer talk to his (formerly Caroline's) otter. He held them both by the scruffs of their necks and waggled them as he babbled. Apparently there was a quarrel because he starting shouting No no no (nah! nah! nah!) and then he slammed them against each other. But they reconciled (Yah? Yah) and kissed (mwak mwak mwak.)

End scene.

-- And now Edward has woken up crying for the first time in weeks and weeks. Criminey.

Hey, here's a question for you. I would have thought based upon our experience with Patrick that it would have been more likely for me to investigate teaching Caroline and Edward to pilot single-engine aircraft prior to kindergarten but Cricket has developed an avid interest in bathrooms and everything people do in there and I am wondering... you don't possibly suppose a twenty month old child, a baby really, practically an infant, could learn to use the potty? A few weeks ago Patrick brought down a copy of some toilet training book (the potty book for boys; it is written in really badly scanned rhyme) and proceeded to read it to Caroline and Edward. He then brought up one of his old potties from the basement (Patrick will make a great manny one day, I'm just telling you) and left it in the powder room. A week ago (two?) Caroline started grabbing her, oh, bikini area and shouting, "Pee! Wet!" before racing off to the potty where she would attempt to unzip her footie pajamas. Then two days ago a series of circumstances conspired to leave her naked for about five minutes during which time she, ah, well, relieved herself in a tidy, well, yes, about six inches to the left of the potty. I found her in the kitchen grabbing a cloth with which to go clean things up - they really are the anti-Patrick in so many ways. Where was I? Oh right. I have zero interest in potty training or toilet learning or whatever the enlightened are calling it these days if it means I spend the next year and a half inconveniencing myself when I could just as easily wait until she is ready and be done in a week. But I don't want to, oh I don't know, stifle the kid either. Can a twenty month old ditch the diapers? Please advise.

Our Lady of the Laundry Room (what's the feng shui on a cluttered laundry room?) 

Edward cannot hear you because he has a bin on his head.

Comments

[Helen]

Yep, she's ready! :)

And I also agree with the others - pictures of the new haircut please. I accidentally cut my hair too short, and I do mean myself... and I hate it. I later went to get it fixed by a stylist and it got even shorter, as expected. But I can't stand having the hair sticking into my neck and the uneven ends too short to pull back falling everywhere. My head is a mess of bobby pins and ponytail holders that don't stay. I think you get the point. But since everyone seems to like your haircut there, please enlighten us. :)

[kara]

Oh, come now. Did you really think you could post that first paragraph and not be virtually bludgeoned to post a picture as well? Ha. Please?

[Mrs. G]

She's not too little at all. I mean, no reason to push it but give her the gear and see what happens. My daughter was finished toilet training at 22 months (that's when I canceled the diaper service).

[Claire]

Katerina -- Ruth is right, the twins are well-clad in Zutano! This site carries most of their stuff:
http://www.comfykid.com/Zutano-main.htm

Happy shopping :)

[Pam L]

I've never supported pushing a toddler in potty training, but, if they are interested and are leading the initiative, I'd say let her go for it. My boys were both 3 & 1/2 before they were done with it and ready for pre-school so I don't know what it's like to have one so into it so early, but that's what it takes, they have to care. Go Caroline! Plus, maybe her showing interest might spark Edwards checking into it also, who knows? Tell him reading on the potty is a long standing , or sitting, tradition.

[Erika]

We started trying to potty train C at about 2. She wasn't ready, so we tried again in 6 months. We finally declared victory at 4 yrs, 1 month. If she's ready now, take advantage of it!

Other than that, she sounded exactly like C, who often would take hours to go to sleep. Or wake in the night and take hours to go back to sleep. Come to think of it, she did that last wkd...

[Vanessa]

My daughter refused to use the potty at all until two weeks before her fourth birthday (imagine my agony), but had friends who started at around 18 months and were daytime trained by Caroline's age. So it's definitely possible!

[Heather]

She's ready! My son was completely out of diapers by birthday #2. I kept him in one at night for a few months after, but he never had an accident at night either so we ditched them all together. One thing though, we skipped the little potty chair and used the "Big potty."

[Robyn]

What is is with men and their wives' hair?

Someday I will cut short...but think I will have to let it be a surprise, also. :)

[AJP]

YES, she is ready! Go for it. I didn't change a poopy diaper after 18 months and my daughter was fully trained before her second birthday. Now I listen to my friends' problems trying to potty-train their willful 2 and a half year olds and I'm SO glad that I took advantage of doing it early. It's not a popular opinion around many, but I COMPLETELY disagree with the notion that children can't be potty-trained before age 2.5. Several of the studies showing that it's best to wait are funded by diaper companies (Yes, really).

[Nina]

Do it, do it do it. There is no reason why not if the kid is ready. My kid is the same age as yours and he is semi-potty trained (Matei pee like man! Matei pee like man!) but he still will only poo in a secretive, furtive way. At the moment he only wears diapers to sleep and when we go out.

Not a big hassle at all really.

[MsCellania]

Could be toilet flirtation. Could be the real thing. I say put her in easily pulled down clothing and see what happens.
Girls learn to talk quickly to Control Their World. She will be barking orders in no time to both her brothers, who will willingly do her bidding, I bet.
Gosh, your kids are delicious. I am glad you are writing about them. I don't recall much about parenting our kids - 'Irish twins' not quite 11 months apart. But I just know it was fun! If only I could remember...They are really fun now that they are 9 and 8!

[Pam L]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add a funny thing I discovered at my parents house after I had kids. It was the baby book of my oldest sister, my parents first child. My Mom made entries as to how she was "toilet training" her when she was 10 months old by setting her on the potty chair at regular intervals throughout the day until something happened. I mean really, odds are something would happen sooner or later but there was a lot of pressure back then (late 40's) to have your baby on a rigid schedule to be considered a successful parent. I laughed out loud at that one.

[kalina]

i spent some time in india this summer where the babies don't wear diapers. they go commando until they can walk and as soon as they do they are potty trained. so there definitely is the capacity to learn at an age that we would consider premature... go for it!

[Dead Bug]

For what it's worth, our daughter Olivia started showing an interest around 18 months, demanding it and getting really excited, but then the interest evaporated. By around 22 months, she was mostly potty trained, but it took another 6+ months for her to stop having accidents at least 1x/week. (Oddly, she never had an accident during nap or nighttime; she only had accidents when she was too absorbed in something else to want to stop and go potty, or of course when she just wanted to assert her willful, contrarion nature.) If I had it to do over again, I would probably have waited till she was a bit older, and am not pushing the potty at all on Josh, who is almost 2 now.

[JenniB]

I haven't taken a moment to read the other replies, but I would say, with regards to Caroline and potty training: unless she can pull down her own pants and climb on the potty BY HERSELF, then YOU are the one who is being trained. She sounds like a motivated little sweetie, and so I would suggest that you start by telling her and teaching her how to undress herself. Explain to her that she can use the potty when she can take her own pants/panties off and get on the potty alone (and get the pee /poop in the potty, not on the floor). Provide her with a stool if she needs one to climb up with.
Good luck!!

[zarqa]

Well they say there's a window at 18 months where girls show curiousity to watch and learn. My LO went through that at 18 months and we got the potty and the books and talked about it until she was able to talk about it too. And we even got several pees and a couple poops on the potty but then she decided she just still preferred diapers. I'll never know if it was something I did wrong to make her revert or she just decided she wasn't ready afterall. She's never undressed herself and she can stay in a poopy diaper for hours without feeling icky about it. So we stepped back for a few weeks and just recently (at 26 months) started bringing the potty out again. Miss is still ambivalent. I have no clue how to proceed from henceforth.
It really happens in just a week once they're ready? I guess that's something to look forward to.

[Lynn]

I have nothing to contribute to potty training, since my first is not yet three months old. But I must concur with the commenter that begged you to never, ever stop blogging. Nothing delights me more than a new post by you in my Bloglines feed.

[Pam L]

Whatever you do, no NOT do what my neighbors did when their son was 3. They decided he was potty trained one weekend after they stayed home all weekend making him sit on the pot. They were expecting another perfect child like their first, and this untrained 3 year old was going to be done with it in one weekend, by golly. Problem was, I was their daycare person 10+ hours a day so they plopped him at my threshold early Monday morning and said- he's potty trained ..bye! Guess what, he wasn't, didn't want to be AND they brought one diaper for nap time, just in case and he begged me to take a nap by 10am so he could put that diaper on. Then, because he became obsessed with diapers, he kept getting into my sons diapers (he is a year younger and was still in diapers full time)and was putting them on and playing with them, poor kid. He had lots of accidents because he forgot he wasn't wearing a diaper, once a messy bm when we had to go the the store one day...fun. Oddly, these same parents who tried to rush him through toddler-hood, held him back from starting school when he was 5, quite social and definitely ready for it, so he could shine in kinder as a 6 year old. Go figure.

[amanda]

She's definitely ready. I worked in daycare for 3.5 years (some credibility) and Caroline is definitely ready. Have at it! Your kids are all unique geniuses anyway. No surprise here.

[victoria]

Gasp! Beautiful, gifted children! Gasp! Beautiful gifted mom! Jealousy!

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1493100138]

Pictures pictures we want pictures! And not of the lovely kidlets this time, of YOU and the spiffy new do!

[Cort]

My sister's youngest just potty-trained herself. She's almost 20 months old. She just decided one day she was ready to ditch the diapers. She's had a few accidents, but for the most part she's trained. In a week! My sister's oldest was potty-trained about the same time (also a girl).

I have no personal experience with this, as my own little "twinkle" is still gestating, but I'm hoping we have the same luck my sister has.

[Bethany]

Didn't have time to read other comments, but wanted to say that I would love to see a picture of the new hairstyle!!

Also, with regards to potty training we sound of similar mindset and also similar female offspring in that regard. DD is about a month and a half older than Caroline and about a month or so ago DD ran over and used her potty that I just had sitting in the bathroom while she had naked time (for about an hour every morning - naked time that is, not time on the potty ;) Anyway, I praised her that she pooped on the potty and she sat right back down and proceeded to pee and poop about six more times right in a row. She's peed or pooped on the potty every single day since then.

I'm not ready to do anymore than that. She's not consistent with telling me she's wet or that she pooped so I figure she's not ready to do it everytime and I don't want to drive myself crazy nor do I want to make her frustrated so I'm just going with what we've got. Sometimes she pulls her diaper off or indicates otherwise and we do the potty, but on the other hand, she'll also say "No no" when she could have used the potty but didn't want to. So, meh. She'll get there when she gets there and it's completely not a thorn in anyone's side this way. Works for us! Diapers don't bother me a bit and if she reeeeaaaaly wanted to use the potty she could be more forceful on her end so I'm letting her go at her pace while giving her the opportunity and experience every day to do so. Can't wait to hear how Caroline's experience goes!

Again, pictures please - if you feel like sharing! Your family is beautiful and amazing as always, you lucky woman!

P.S. DD looooves the "Once Upon a Potty" by Alona Frankel book, DVD, and the doll (really, all 3!). I've read it to her for probably the past five months and it's done an excellent job introducing her to the potty. So much so that that first time she pooped, she carried her own little potty over to the toilet and dumped it in (by herself!...I kid you not) and she would have no idea how or why to do that except that it's in that book so clearly it's worked for her. I own no stock in the company.

[Shawna]

My daughter trained herself for, ahem, "solids" at 20 months, but happily peed in her diaper for another year (we didn't push it either for a long time because, really, the gross diapers were done away with and we didn't relish the idea of dealing with the very short lead time for toddler peeing). I was purportedly totally toilet trained at 18 months. I say go for it!

[Karen O]

NOT SO FAST. Did you really thing you could taunt us with the haircut and then leave us hanging with no picture? Did you really think that we'd all be so easily diverted with the potty training question and adorable twin photos? Did you think we weren't paying attention? Come on - I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to see the new do!

[Audrey]

Physically, according to what I learned in school, most kids aren't ready until 18 months - then it becomes a case of, as others have said, when they have the agility to remove their own clothing and when they're mentally ready. I've seen kids in the peds office I used to work for totally trained (not parent-is-trained) anywhere between eighteen months and four...and then a few who insisted on holding out a little longer. If she's acting ready, I say go for it. Couldn't hurt. And twins can often be like monkeys - teach one, and they'll go teach the other...

Also, I finally figured out who Caroline reminds me of and it is most definitely NOT Susan Boyle. It's the little girl I do home care for, who is absolutely adorable and made to be snuggled. I was at work today and looked at her from just the right angle and went, "OMG, that's it!"

[Christine]

It seems so pointless to whip out another, "She is ready!" since that seems to be covered by pretty much every other comment.

But, just my own experience, Julia started the same thing at about 21 months. She's not trained yet, but she's getting there and at least she's trying and for all that is holy Max was nearly four before he got it so we take what we can get around here.

[winecat]

First - where the hell are the new haircut pictures??

Second - My MIL had my husband potty trained at nine months (she's a very strange person, let's not go there)

Third - I'm delighted to see Caroline still points her toes. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen!

[Genevieve]

"Edward knows that I don't have tires and therefore I am of limited interest to him."

Does Edward have the book "Five Trucks" by Brian Floca?
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Trucks-DK-Publishing/dp/078948188X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252905209&sr=1-1

[Lise]

Like Caroline, my first kid was interested at about 20 months. We started in earnest at about 22 months and she was day-trained by 25 months. Kid 2 was 2.5 or so (I don't really remember so it must have been painless. Either that, or I was so exhausted since I was pregnant and taking care of two kiddoes plus running a daycare in my home that I just can't remember the trauma.) Kid 3 was physically ready by the age of two but is the most quietly stubborn child alive so didn't train until after she turned three and wanted to take swimming lessons. She made up for it a few years later by taking it upon herself to potty train her little sister at the age of 2.5.

So, based on my own four little lab rats, I'd say go ahead and start the process. If it doesn't work now, you can just itry again in a few months.

[Not My Mother]

Ha. This is exactly why I got a parrot! Although, if Caroline said, "Hello! I missed you. Whatcha doing?" you could be pretty sure she understood what she meant, whereas mine, I'm guessing doesn't.

Kids! The smarter parrot!

[Katerina]

Ruth and Claire: Thank you for the Zutano info and link! Those clothes are great, great, great...

Here in Prague we get only ridiculously overpriced Zara kids, Next (really expensive, not that great yet cultishly coveted by mothers), poorly made & ugly Chinese imports and, thank god, H&M, quite nice but very basic. (I am not willing to dress my 1-yr-old boy in quasi military style like so many Czech parents... and I absolutely abhor "cute" first-person messages on children's clothes which are practically de rigueur here (in English, natch, so I imagine their lameness doesn't bother those who don't speak the language). Rant over. Thank you.

[Katerina]

BTW sorry to clog this section with my baby shopping obsessions. But it must be said that Julia has excellent taste in choosing her offspring's outfits. Even though P&E&C would look cute wearing just about anything, I'm sure.

Can't wait to see the haircut...

[Tracy]

First, my mother swears that right before my little sister was born, she decided she didn't want two kids in diapers so she pointed to my older sister's potty chair and said "You can pee in there now." And that this was the sum total of my potty training. My little sister is 15 months younger than I am.

Second, we must see the hair! I had hair down to my bra clasp until DD was about 2 years old, and then I got it cut to shoulder length. She was not happy about it. She refused to go to me when I went to pick her up at daycare that first afternoon. But she got over it.

Third, Zutano! Love it! Always did. I was so sad when she outgrew it.

Fourth, did I mention we need to see a picture of the hair?

[Kristin]

She absolutely can potty train and , if you miss this opportunity, you may have a much, much harder time later.

Love to hear the words they are coming out with.

[Tine]

Grab that bull by the horns and run with it. Yes, a 20-month-old can definitely be potty trained. My kids weren't that sort, but I've known plenty. Sounds like she *wants* to learn, which is 90% of the battle, IMO.

[Pam]

Great post. Your kids are adorable. Mine were all 3 when they were potty trained, it only took 2-3 days at that point. She sounds ready though, good luck!!!!

[Laziza]

Well, mine is only 11 months, so I don't have the mother experience on this. But MY mother swears I was potty-trained at 18 months, so I suppose it is possible. She said she just started sitting me on the toilet one day and, if I went, she'd applaud wildly and give me treats. If I didn't, no biggie, no reaction, we just tried again the next day. If I had to guess, I would say Caroline is ready to start trying, at least.

[Jennifer]

By all means, let her at it. Ditch any thoughts of pullups, because they never really worked for us, except for at night until we had quite a streak of dry/actually getting up to pee. After all, it's still just a more expensive diaper.

Our approach was to put him in underwear, so he would get it when he peed, what it felt like. It was the turning point for use. A bit messy, but the turning point.

[Julie]

I don't think it's too early to at least try to potty train, if she's showing interest.. Props to my MIL, who was my daycare provider, when mine son was younger. She had him potty trained by 2. Sure we had a few accidents here and there afterwards. But for the most part he was all but trained by his second birthday. I think if she's showing interest then why not introduce it to her. :) Love reading your blog!

Another Julie

[Julie]

All sorts of grammatical issues with my last post. He was potty trained by two not all but trained. That just didn't come out right at all. I blame it on the wine I had with breakfast! :~)

[sarah]

I took a class on somehitn or other once with a noted paretn consultatn, and she said that at that age (and even younger), they are very interested in imitation, but later,they are intersted in doing what they are doing, so potty training is much harder. She seems to be making a link between what is happening in her diaper and what could be happening on a potty chair. I say go for it!

[Karen]

My oldest daughter was interested at 18 months, but not seriously. We bought a potty chair and some books and some panties, but got tired of the process after a couple of weeks.

Then I got pregnant and refused to engage in PT. Then when the new baby was born I wanted to wait a bit to catch my breath. Then I gave her big girl panties and she got the whole deal down in a few days, night-time, too. She was 30 months at that point.

I think it's worth a shot with Caroline, but I wouldn't get too invested in it, either.

[sozzled]

yes! she is ready! Annie was trained around 19 months...I put it down to her being a second child.

Also, my hair? I had it colored...couldn't give the length but the gray (cough) were making the red less red, so I colored it and it ended up being more brown than red and over the course of two weeks tim said:
I love it! but I thought I married a red head.
then said, next time you color it maybe more red?
to finally, I had a dream you were dancing with (insert name of a guy friend of mine that he doesn't like) and your hair was red. (apparently that was what mattered more than my dancing with another man).
so I went back in and now it is red, and he is happy. the end.

[sarah]

haha, delurking to say that i love patrick's enthusiasm for ellipticals. as an astrophysicist who spends her time studying the evolution of galaxies (most of which are ellipticals) that are in galaxy clusters, i appreciate the shout-out for the not-as-asthetically-pleasing-yet-still-interesting ones :)

and sorry, i have no idea about potty training, but good luck.

also, great blog. thanks!

[Leah]

Don't have anything to add about potty-training because my first is a month behind your twinkles, and I am just reading everyone else's advice.

I would, however, definitely like to see a picture of the new 'do--My hair has also hit the middle of my back and I am chopping it.... grew it out to give away to Pantene Lengths or Locks of Love

[Lee]

I am crying with laughter with your (unspoken) retort to Patrick.

[Kelli]

Julia -

Go for it with the potty training. I was on the lookout for readiness when our son was 2.5. He woke up one Saturday morning and refused to let me put a diaper on after changing him, so I pulled out the underwear and told him what I expected and never looked back. Took three days (lucky it was Labor Day weekend) and by Tuesday he went to school with pull ups only for nap time.

A question for your internet friends-
At what age can a child play outside by themselves? I have a 3.5 year old who thinks he is old enough because he is 'big' (one of the bigger kids at day care, now that he's in the 3 year old room). I can see our entire backyard from my kitchen window, including his sandbox where he can spend HOURS playing and couldn't care less if I'm around. He's good about knowing and following rules even when I'm not right by his side. He tends to be a bit clingy, so we encourage attemtps at independence. Backyard is fenced, but one side does run along the main street in our usually-quiet neighborhood. I send the very noisy and possessive American Eskimo dog outside with him as a watchdog. Does anyone think it's OK to let him play outside by himself, window open so I can talk to him, while I do food prep, etc. at the sink? My reasonable side tends to say yes, because I can see everything he's doing and anyone who might try to venture in to the yard and I can hear him if he calls for me, cries, etc. The paranoid side of my brain imagines the boogey man just around the corner. What do your friends think? I know there are laws against leaving a child in the car unattended - does anyone know of any legislation applying to this situation? Would this count as unattended since I'm not actually in the yard, even if I am watching him and am very close by? We have a policeman who lives down the street, and I don't have a desire to have my door bell ring....

[Jen]

need a pix of the new haircut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!