Regarding Princess !Kaboom!

[saffronhare]

Fair warning: contains references to involving sticky children and potty training

Yesterday evening, against all odds, I made it home for dinner before rehearsal for Opera Kadopera with breathofgold. Princesses !Kaboom! and Sticky were blowing bubbles outside. Amazing how sticky and dirty a child can get when she's playing with, well, soap.

Anyway, we troop inside for yummy meatballs prepared by agrnmn. (He actually made spagetti and meatballs, but the meatballs were ready first so we ate those first and waited to eat the spagetti separately.) At some point during dinner -- perhaps as a stalling tactic -- Princess !Kaboom! announced she had to go potty.

Note: This child hasn't really internalized the concept of simply going to the potty when she has to. The announcement and permission steps are still an essential part of the ritual for her.

Then, we hear an exclamation from the bathroom. "My hair is stuck!" We decide to wait quietly and see what she says next, our minds boggling with the things that could have made her hair "stuck" while she was going potty. Imagine our relief that she had simply managed to attach herself to a round hairbrush. The round hairbrush is a fierce critter, with a grip far outstripping its ability to actually brush one's hair. Removing the brush revealed several little tangled bits of...well, I'm guessing it was her hair, but indescribably bonded with other sticky bits.

ick.

At this time, I declared that it was time for the Princess to get a haircut. Right. Now. More meatballs were eaten, sandals were located and Princess !Kaboom! bounced out to the car with me.

This child loves going to get her hair cut. She sits unbelievably still, following instructions and watching every single moment in the mirror. Of course, she's still very sticky from the bubble-blowing...and her scalp is still quite blue from Sunday's fairy painting, but anyway. On with the show.

She and the stylist decided on a very short little bob, much like featherynscale had, angling from her hairline (shaved a teeny tiny bit) to just above her jawline, with layers in the back. It looks pretty cool on her. The stylist couldn't get over the fact that I was so gung-ho to have her do "Whatever. Just make it easier to deal with." on a 3-year-old...and that the child had an opinion about whether the cut should be "like a triangle" or "like a straight line."

After this, we trooped off to rehearsal, where things went pretty okay. Except for the 23 trips to the bathroom. The first two times, I was okay with it. After all, I'm trying to reinforce that she's the boss of going to the potty and make sure she isn't put off so that she can succeed. However, I'm trying to function as a not-sucky Assistant Director and begin to lose patience on the third trip within an hour.

"Honey, I don't think you really need to use the potty right now." (This, after noticing how entranced she was with the foamy pink soap and washing her hands.)

"No, mom. I really need to go...poop." Well, then. That's different. Pooping on the potty would be a new victory. So off we go.

A few moments later, I'm waiting for her outside the stall. Nothing. I ask, "Sweetie? Are you pooping?"

"Nope." No? Damn. "I'm just rehearsing, Mommy."
.
.
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This is the last time I took her to the bathroom that rehearsal. Thankfully, she's cute enough that the next time she announces a desire to go, one of the singers volunteers to take her -- and I say yes.

The final fun moments of the evening came during rehearsal of the last song, which consists of two women essentially "meow-ing" at each other, Italian Opera-style. Princess !Kaboom! was entranced, and sang the song (or something like it) all the way home.

The end.

Comments

[kittenpants.livejournal.com]

::shakes head::

yup, that's Princess !Kaboom! all right...

Apparently my potty training went something like -- mom explained it to me -- I said "okay" -- and from then on I did it. Perhaps the Coatl will go this route?

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Mlle. Bon Clef would never do anything, next-developmental-stage-wise, until the more advanced stage was the more convenient of the two. It was easier just to stay and play and pee in the diaper than it was to stop and go to the potty. So, I took off the diaper and put on the big girl panties. When she had an accident, she had to help me clean the floor, the cabinets, the shelves, anything that could even remotely have anything to do with the pee. Then we had to wash the clothes in the sink. Then, we had to take a bath, wash hair, etc., etc. It was a 45-minute ritual, at least. Two accidents, and suddenly it was more convenient to pee in the potty. And that was the end of it. At least until she finds out that I told you about it.