The last 2 pee accidents

I know, who wants to hear about those? On the other hand, you really are no parent of a young child if those don't form part of your consciousness whether your kids have them or not.

TWO.
Lorena had been begging to have a play date with her best friends from school, Vivian and Grace for months. We finally got that to happen yesterday. She was even thrilled to have Blake (G's brother) over; she really has come a long way in accepting that boys form part of everyday life whether you like it or not.

Some of the kids were playing outside as I was making tea, I heard them running and screaming. At some point I realized Lorena was screaming, "I NEED TO GO POTTY!!!!" (in English). I came out puzzled and wondering why she called instead of coming. I found her sitting in one of those push cars, all buckled in and unable to free herself. By the time I got to her, she just said, "it is too late; it's coming out.."In no time she was back playing with a new set of clothes; clearly not the end of the world for her.

ONE.
A few weeks ago, we had returned home from school. I reminded Arantxa to go to the bathroom and off she went. I was washing clotes and running around doing things. Quite some time later, I hear Lorena frantically crying, "!!!Bañito, abre la puerta, necesito ir al baño!!!" (Potty, open the door, I need to use the bathroom!!!". I came running down, knowing EXACTLY what was going on. I asked Arantxa to unlock the door, and by the time she did, Lorena could not hold it and she had an accident in front of the potty.

So, what, you are wondering, was Arantxa doing and how did I know? She was lost in a story. This is the way I describe when she is making up a story and telling it aloud. She went into the bathroom, started thinking of a story, and, like the Energizer bunny, kept going and going... She just recently began locking the bathroom door. I ended up making one of those, not quite rules, but expectations. One of those you imagine is so specific, no one has ever needed to make that rule. Arantxa, from now, you can't lock the bathroom door and tell a story. Oh, and yes, you are supposed to make those into positives so it can go like this, Arantxa, if you are in the bathroom telling a story, the door has to remain unlocked. Pablo wanted to add that this only applied to the downstairs bathroom; it really is easy to make it to the other bathroom if you are upstairs. I say this is already too narrow as it is.

We lose Arantxa to her stories frequently... she is having dinner with us, and suddenly, she is off in her world, mumbling and so happy. Other times she goes to put socks on, and 15 minutes later, she is sitting in the floor of her room, folded socks in one hand, blah, blah, blah-bbing....