Meta-Post

Hello, all!

It's been a while since I really checked in and just spoke without a sort of lecturing feel to my post. I started this blog just over a year ago. At first I really didn't know how the blog would develop and evolve. I'm not entirely sure of the direction it will follow even in the near future.

When I began writing about Life in the Cheerios Garden, my son Jackson had just turned a year old. My plan had been to write something along the lines of a documentary, from conception to childbirth and gradually catching up to the present day. By the time I reached the post-partem discussion, however, I floundered. The things I wanted to discuss were less event-specific and more concept-specific. Eventually I settled into a more pedagogical stance. Last summer and fall seasons were so ripe with things for me to say as I developed a written Parenting Philosophy Toolbox.

One of my goals, it occurred to me, was to share insights that I had as a parent. Some may feel that I couldn't possibly be a valid source for such information when my child wasn't even 2 years old. But as time progresses, the points I enumerated in the PPT are still very much relevant now as they were when my son was a newborn, a new walker, and at every point along the way.

Jackson is now 25 months old. One thing I have not really discussed much is my child in particular. This might seem a bit odd for a "mom blog", don't you think? Perhaps that will change over the course of the next year.

Over the holidays I tried to consider what direction to take the blog, now that the PPT is done. I shared some home-made books, illustrated with the smallest amount of practice and created during Jackson's naptimes. Many blogs include a variety of posting types all under one general concept: some images only, some long rants, some quick commentary or quotes. Part of me believes that I should follow suit, randomizing my entries more and concerning myself less with self-imposed (and lately, scarcely met) deadlines.

I haven't really felt any great epiphanies about what to do next. Part of me believes that I could be reasonably reliable if I were just relating individual stories of experiences in the world of at-home parenting (which is a serious misnomer, as we are seldom truly at home). Part of me feels a sense of guilt in doing so, that I would not be really benefiting anyone by imparting such stories.

For the next while, I imagine I will attempt a hodge podge of ideas as I try to feel out where it is I want to go with the blog. Wherever that path leads, I hope you will follow!

Thank you all for making me feel like my time and effort is valuable. Stay tuned for...whatever may come next!

~Jessica Adams

Books for Babies & Toddlers: Potty Time

The first book I drafted for Jackson was designed to help introduce and/or clarify how to use the toilet. He was a little young for full-scale potty training, but he had begun pre-training him already. I recognized that it would be helpful for him to have some predefined understanding of exactly what was going to be expected of him eventually.

I had recently taken an interest in learning how to improve my drawing skills, but my first sketches were overly complex and not particularly easy to interpret for a toddler, I judged. Then inspiration hit: I could study someone else's drawing technique and try to mimic it. Remembering how much I enjoyed the illustrations by Caroline Jayne Church (CJC) in one of Jackson's books, I used I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rosetti Shustak (illustrated by CJC) as a template for practice. The style is very basic, and the young boy character was already a very good model for Jackson. With some moderate amount of fiddling, I managed to determine how best I could get my own hand to create an image that looked passingly similar to CJC's artwork.

My main motivation for drafting my own potty learning book was because I could not find a book online or in stores that modeled exactly what I wanted my son to see. I did not like the flashier books with the flushing sounds which distract from the images and (I imagine) are designed to help children acclimate to the potentially scary sound of a flushing commode. Jackson had been enjoying flushing the toilet since before he could walk, so that was not a concern--and therefore merely an unwanted interference. Another popular book shows a little boy using what looks like a large bowl for a potty. I wasn't planning to teach my son to squat over a bowl, so that one was out. Yet another common book for kids to learn about elimination is entitled Everybody Poops! Well, this was no surprise to my son who was fairly well aware of the fact already, and no other useful information is imparted in the book. Nothing I found beyond that really fit the bill, so it was up to me.

[Some of you may be thinking: But wait, couldn't your husband just as easily be the one to write/draw the book? Not so. I've seen his artwork. I think it might physically kill him to attempt to draw anything that wasn't in perfect rows and columns. Plus as the one most eager to see the goal achieved and most interested in the particulars of the book, as the one to stay home with our child, I was the very obvious candidate of choice for the task.]

And so, without further ado, I present to you The Potty Book, by Mommy Adams.

"Hi, I'm Jackson!"

This first page drawn was before I considered that a cover page would really be a good idea. It scanned reasonably well despite being taped back together.

"I am learning how to use a Big Boy potty."

I was feeling pretty good when Jackson was readily able to identify this as a toilet. I think the tank and the handle helped more than the bowl itself.

"I used to wear diapers when I was a baby."

This page scanned far worse the first go around. Because the potty book was so well loved before I thought to scan it, several pages were a bit curvier than my document scanner approves of them being.

Additionally, this page may have actually caused me some grief due to its comparison to the next page. Jackson had noticed that the Big Boy didn't get a pacifier, and since we are still working on weaning him of the paci, this is a bit of an issue for him.

"Now, I'm learning to wear underwear like a Big Boy!"

Apparently I was still thinking "baby" and not "toddler" because I drew the Big Boy as bowlegged instead of knock-kneed. Regardless, it got the point across.

"When I feel like I am going to make pee or poopy, I say, 'I need to go potty!'"

Another page the scanner didn't like so well. Also, there is an unfortunate (if mild) contrast in terminology here between this page and another. My suggestion to anyone who attempts to do something similar is to consider that changing a phrase even slightly can become confusing for you (and Little Bits) during the reading process. Try to remain consistent.

"Then I go to the bathroom."

Sometimes it's a bit tricky, I've found, trying to decide how to depict an idea. There were a number of ways that I could have illustrated the concept of physically moving to the bathroom, but in the end, drawing a bathroom door partially open was what worked best for my limited artistic development.

"In the bathroom, I take off my pants and underwear. Sometimes I only have time to pull them down to my ankles."

Apologies again for the bad scanning. This book really has seen a fair bit of love since its creation. However, it's paid off. Just today, Jackson knew two of his older friends were going to the bathroom, so he asked to go (which he never does; ordinarily he just shows that he is about to pee). Sure enough, he went like a champion racehorse. (He also really likes to point out the boy's penis in this picture.)

"When I get on the potty fast enough, I can sit on the toilet when I make pee or poopy."

I recently decided to see if Jackson could tell me the story, knowing that he's very familiar with this book by now. He was able to identify all the important aspects of each page, though he was a little less sure with this one. With a little prodding, however, he decided that the boy in this picture was peeing.

"When I pee or make poopy, I clean my privates with toilet paper and wet wipes. Sometimes I need help."

This is another bad scan, yes. This is also where I accidentally changed the grammar order slightly, which has made a small amount of confusion in the reading process. Another point of confusion here I realized was that I used the term "privates", which isn't something we normally say to Jackson, so I find myself continually adding a verbal definition of what privates are.

"When I finish, I flush the potty. That's my favorite part!"

I really had a tricky time deciding how to depict a flushing toilet. I thought about drawing an arrow showing the handle depressing, but I considered that might be difficult for a young toddler to interpret. In the end, I decided to try to show the swirling water, but as you can see, it looks like the water is not alone in the potty.

"Next, I wash my hands in the sink with soap and water until they are clean. Then I dry them with a towel."

Rather than figuring out how to show him washing his hands, I decided that a sketch of hands up close with the sink and towel visible should suffice. This page I consider invaluable to the book, as I am not aware of hygiene being stressed as a part of bathroom usage in most potty training stories. My goal was to capture the entire process, not just the bit with the toilet itself.

"When I put my underwear and pants back on, it's time to play!"

Another thing I felt important was for Jackson to know that just because he needed to take time out to go to the bathroom, he wasn't going to have to stop playing. He could still return to play again once his potty trip was complete (which of course, includes hand-washing). We tend to punctuate this final page with a cheerful, "Hooray!"

I hope that this has been helpful as a demonstration of a home-made potty training book. As you can see, I'm not a skilled or well-practiced artist, but I knew that with a little effort, I could convey exactly what it was that I feel is most important for my child to learn about the toileting experience. By sharing, my fervent wish is that any other parents or childcare providers who attempt this will be able to benefit from the lessons I learned in the process of writing such a book and thereby make their own even better.

I expect to keep writing more books as issues arise. One idea I have in mind at present is to help show the aging process. It occurs to me that very young children are not aware of the fact that they are growing and changing and that someday they will become adults. Another book I have some thoughts about writing one day is about siblings. That one I'll wait to write until we decide to try for another monster-in-training!