Pirates, Potty, and Pilates

Okay, okay. I'm back blogging. Southern Cross finished her race in 3rd place (out of 3, but heck it's better than crankin' the engine). They're back, blah blah. Now on to the important stuff:

This is Mia, Zachary's friend, at Zachary's Pirate themed 3rd birthday party!

And here is the birthday boy enjoying the water slide we rented for his party (only the best for my little prince).

And here we are blowing out his candles on his pirate ship cake. The cake fell over just prior to lighting the candles. The party was lots of fun (18 kids!!). We had sunken treasure in the pool, pirate hats and swords, in addition to the water slide. The water slide was designed for little kids, it had no pool at the bottom, and was a huge hit. After everyone left Zachary went down the slide over and over, the sun set and it got a little cool. I had to drag him inside when his lips turned blue!! The party was a blast, and Zachary made out like a real pirate with lots of "booty!"

On to the next topic: The Potty. Geez what a nightmare. I'm trying the gentle approach to potty training. I have Zachary sit on the potty every hour or so and I keep hoping I'll time it right and he'll actually put something in the potty. No such luck yet. It's been a couple of weeks. Ugh. I suck at this. So now we have to up the ante and go straight to big boy underwear. But that's not possible now, read on to learn why.

The next topic: Pilates. For those of you who don't know, Pilates is a form of exercise that emphasizes core strength and flexibility. I have decided to get certified to teach Pilates. First I have to get certified on the exercises performed on a yoga mat, the Mat-Plus certification. I am going to Orlando July 11 to begin that training. In the fall I will get certified on the Reformer, a specialized apparatus that takes the exercises to a whole new intensity level. There is one woman in my town that is Reformer certified, and she is moving to Sun Valley in a couple of weeks. She has a list of clients wanting to continue to work on the Reformer. So, long story short, I'm going to open a Pilates, Yoga, and Belly Dance Studio. I'm currently looking for a space near my home so I can begin teaching while Zachary is in preschool.

Right now I'm in Birmingham teaching for the Alabama Ballet's summer program. We have a condo here, and it HAD a washer and dryer. I use the past tense because now it no longer has a washer and dryer. I'm not sure what happened, but the story I got was that the former W&D broke (both of them?) and the replacements would not fit in the tiny closet that housed the originals. We are here for three weeks (well, actually we'll go to Atlanta for the 4th of July for a family reunion, then back here until I go to Orlando). So, with no washer or dryer, there is no way in hell I'm going to full scale big boy underwear to potty train my child.

So, I sit here in Birmingham, "borrowing" someone's internet and returning to blogging. I am overdosing on Pilates classes, preparing for my intensive teacher training in a couple of weeks. There is a Pilates studio, very similar to what I want to do with mine, down the street from our condo. I took a mat class Monday, a Reformer class yesterday, 2 Reformer classes and 1 mat class today. They're kicking my butt (well, actually my core - abs and lower back), and I'm loving it. Zachary is doing great. He's such a trooper. He adapted to our new routine here so quickly. He's sleeping in an older version of a Pack-N-Play that sits on the floor. He can get out of it, but amazingly he doesn't until I go in his room to get him out. Today I took him to the zoo (in between Pilates classes) and we rode the train and walked around looking at the animals. He's such a fun little companion. We had such a great time. I cannot believe my little boy is 3 years old!