Getting what I asked for

I'm about to get that "one week" I asked for, and I'm actually a little scared. The girls's dad is coming this weekend to take them for almost a week to visit his family. I'm worried because time with their dad has resulted in some behavior back-sliding in the past.

I'll finally get a weekend to spend with papa, and several week days when I can work out and do housework without interruption. Maybe I'll even manage to go somewhere by myself for once. But, when they come back, what am I going to have to contend with?

The last time they vacationed with him, they did almost no homeschooling. When they were returned to me, they were all at least partially un-potty trained. Shortly after their time away, while we were viewing houses with intent to buy one and move, one of the girls tried to poop in the yard at one of the houses we were considering. Good thing we were watching her.

When I sent them off with him, only one of them was having accidents. The wet spots were small and not every day. When he brought them back, he claimed they were all having huge accidents every single day while they were with him, and one of them (the same who attempted the outdoor potty scene with us, later) had been sneaking out into their great grandparents' back yard to poop.

One of the girls still hasn't fully recovered from the un-potty training of their last adventure, but we've made great strides in returning their behavior to previous standards. I'm worried, though, about the prospect of spending months trying to "fix" them every time he brings them back home, and never making progress as a result.

On a lighter note, we had some great weather over the weekend and really got to take advantage of it. On Saturday, we had a soccer game in the sun. Sunday, we went to the zoo. On our way home, I made a pit-stop at Target and bought a small, inflatable pool, four new swimming suits and three pairs of child-sized goggles. We set up the pool and filled it Sunday night and had cheesy, grilled brats for dinner. Then, the girls got to play in their new pool Monday afternoon after the sun had warmed the water a bit.


I'm glad we fully enjoyed those days. On Tuesday night, it snowed. It's still snowing now, on Wednesday afternoon.