Rose Rant: Episode 3!

Chris Harrison calls the boys to the court yard and he  goes over the rules, again. Like he does every week…how dumb does he think the dudes/viewers are?!

Chris Date:

Chris got the first one on one of the week. 

I like to call him Connection Chris, he always talks about what a connection he has with Emily. 

 He is good looking but has borderline steve buscsemi eyes!! 

Chris is at the top of her list since night 1is what Emily says, so thats a good thing for him.

To get to their dinner, they climbed up the side of a building. You could tell Emily was getting really scared and who wouldn't be! It was getting windy and stormy. He was good and supportive and calm, he seemed like a protector, and stayed with her even though he probably could have climbed faster.  He was respectful and didn’t go in for a kiss, because it didn’t feel like the right time.

During their dinner chat, he mentions that he is 25, but he seems much older. She was thrilled with him after he said how mature and ready he was to settle down After dinner,  Luke Bryan performed for them. And Luke Bryan kind of actually looks like he could be a long lost southern brother to Chris.  He was respectful, asked her for a kiss, he got it! He got the first kiss!!   (and a couple.. scratch that SEVERAL more.) That’s usually the mark of a front runner!

Tony called his son, because he was really missing him.  I got choked up. Mostly because I love Tony. He is so cute.  SO cute. And partly because I can't imagine being away for such an extended time, and not really knowing how long you will be gone or if it will be worth it in the end. 

GROUP DATE:

She fibbed to Ryan and the boys about kissing Chris.. not that I would admit that to the guys if I was in her shoes.

They get to hang out with her friends on this date! The girls are interviewing the guys on this date. They are gonna be vicious, and I love it.

The guys are terrified! 

Here is a little bit  of a recap of what went down. 

Tony: dad, get points

Jef: dated a girl with 2 kids so he gets it and hes ready

Doug: dad, gets points

Ryan:doing pushups

Wolf: girlfriend said..oh I mean friend that’s a girl. Red flag, and the pause before the answer about cheating. 

Stevie… makes me hate him even more everytime I see him.

Sean, who came out of no where, I kind of forgot about him: cute, family oriented, faith is importantgave good answers!! Wendy loves him, Wendy should be a staple on the bachelorette, I love her. She is feisty. 

 After the interrogations, the guys have to wrangle a bunch of screaming kids. I have a child that I dearly love, and that looks like a nightmare. I can’t imagine how that would be if I never had a kid.

Doug, Tony, Jef, Sean are the stand outs with the kids. 

Clear who just says kids and who can actually handle it and back it up

Ryan is pretty..but manly . maybe did a bad thing. Basically said if she got fat, he would love her but not love on her. Bad MOVE.

Ryan is getting a little cocky, and a little bold. And he has potential to be the troublemaker, I did NOT see that coming. He was so sweet and great on the first date. 

Group date cocktail party: 

Emily wants to talk a little more to Sean and Doug.

 Sean won big with family talk. She was very impressed with him and his answers. 

Doug wanted to clarify to her that he was more than "dad Doug" and that that he wanted her to get to know who he was.  Doug  had a hard life. His mom left, Dad died. In and out of foster homes, getting separated from his siblings. She was so teary, as was I. She was impressed with how resilient and strong he is. 

Tony really misses his son, playing with the kids made him really miss his son more. He was talking to Emily about his son, tearing up. She says so many comforting and encouraging things, she has been there when she was on the Bachelor for Brad.  Emily, talks to him again, trying to comfort him, but she went back to her time with Brad, and said that if he really had understood what it was like to be a parent separated from their child, he would have sent her home if he didn’t know she was his girl. She basically said, " Im not totally into you, go home because I don’t see it going to the end and I would hate to keep you longer than this and put you through that. "  He went home..and I’m so sad…but it was the right thing. And Jef said what they all wanted to say.. we’re sad but its one less competitor.

 You can already sort of see her “type” ie: Chris, Ryan, Sean, Doug. She likes the big, super manly men.

  

Sean got the rose for the group date! 

Meanwhile back at the mansion

Kalon says he hopes Emily is interested enough to plan an over the top date for him and her, what a cocky SOB!  The date card comes and its for Arie, it says Arie, drive me wild, or something to that effect and then Kalon asks Arie, the race car driver, "can you drive a stick? " 

Hahaha. I cant believe Arie even justified that with an answer.

Arie Date: 

Date at Dollywood!!!

Arie and Emily explored Dollywood and rode rides. Then they went to a stage and tried to write a love song. 

And then, the curtains open anddddd: 

Dolly friggin Parton! Dolly Parton comes out and you can tell that Emily is in total shock. And Dolly Parton thinks its kind of funny and says sarcastically "Dolly Parton at Dollywood, who would have thought?"

Dolly wrote her a song and wanted girl talk with her.. I would have had the same (or bigger ) reaction as Emily did.  I love Dolly Parton. LOVE. I really think I would have died. OMG OMG OMG OMG. OMG . I would have just cried and been over the moon.  

Dolly Partons little video confessional speech about love everlasting made me teary. And she was singing "To the Moon and Back," which I have fond memories to those words and song. I was going nuts the whole time Dolly Parton was on, this show just totally redeemed itself for last weeks Muppet Mess. 

Arie and Emily at dinner have a chat. He last dated a girl with 2 kids. he was so close to his ex girlfriends kids, and it was really tough when they broke up.  They broke up because he wanted kids, she didn’t want more. He says he learned what it is to be ready for kids, and he is there, and he wants that.  He asks about the race car thing, and she says the race car thing is a non issue, she welcomes it.

She was freaking me out and played like she was gonna send him home… then SYKE! She was just kidding. You could totally tell he was crushed when he thought he was going home, I think he really likes her. 

He got not only a kiss, he got a make out sesh on a carousel! 

Arie is so cute and they are so adorable together. I am really liking Arie. 

Here is a highlight reel of what went down at the cocktail party: 

Kalon and Emily chatted, he took it personally that he didnt get a date.  He then tells her "I never had to share, so I don’t like this. " They talk about kids, he says he always thought his first child would be one of his own, and that this would not  be how he wrote it up as a kid." She was talking about kids, a hot button for her and then he said, "I love it when you talk,  but I love it if you would let me finish."  Okay, Kayne, what a D-BAG!!   Emily said she likes: Tall skinny and funny, but she will not tolerate tall skinny and condescending. 

 Egg man let go of shelly (the egg). ( Egg Man's name is  Travis ) Travis and Emily smashed the egg, which originally represented how he was going to care for her and her child. So what was smashing it symbolic of? 

Alessandro.... oh Alessandro. He says he doesn’t have kids experience.  And then goes on to say that kids and wife would be a compromise. Kids are a compromise?  Emily says that kids are not a compromise, but a bonus.  She asks if maybe he is mis-using a word and that it is a language issue, and maybe he downs' mean compromise.  He says firmly, no its not.  He is gone. And good riddance! What a jerk!   Sean also mentions that he told her friends that he cheated on an ex and that he had a one night stand, so he wasn't passing in the friend book anyway.

I love Emily and how cut throat she is.  If she doesn’t like someone, they are gone and they are gone that instant. 

She was very upset from the night she had (Kalon and his attitude, Alessandro and his compromise issues). Arie notices that she is upset and goes to comfort her, and she kissed Arie at the cocktail party, in front of all the guys. Bold move! She must really be into Arie to kiss him at the rose ceremony cocktail party! Ryan is not happy with the kiss and says that Arie is dainty and not the many man Emily needs/wants. Arie and Ryan have the same hair, and Ryan definitely does some beard-scaping, so thats the pot calling the kettle black. 

Sean and Emily talk some more and he tells her that his Dad has shown him his whole life how to be a great man and a perfect dad. He said, that Ricki would be his daughter, and he would never think otherwise. She was so reassured, she made out with him!

So now the kiss count is Chris, Arie and Sean. 

On to the Rose Ceremony: 

Rose Roundup: 

 Alessandro is gone, Tony is gone, Stevie is gone (finally!)

Who made the cut: 

Jef

Charlie

Doug

Michael

Travis

Alejandro

Ryan

John

Kalon

Nate

They showed the preview of what is going down this Monday and I can't wait. Now that the numbers are coming down, things are gonna start getting a little crazy and I love it! 

Potty Training: Epic FAIL

Last week I was reading some articles and tips about potty training your toddler in a day/weekend. I got extremely excited and very motivated. I was sure I could do this, and I knew Addy could too, she is so smart and she is two and half.  I was so excited and went out to target and stocked up for our big potty weekend. We had neon posterboard for a potty sticker chart and the stickers were oversized sticky rhinestones at the request of Princess Addilyn, the best treats and sweets, salty snacks, a new special cup, ballons, everything.

We made the chart and decorated it with curly gift ribbons and glitter markers. We set up the potty and I explained to Addy what the plan was.  SN: We have had the toddler toilet since last July and so she knows what it is, she has even successfully used it once or twice when we catch her making the potty face, so she is up to date and informed on to what it is and what it is used for. 

I followed the tips and made Barbie have an "accident" with a water filled medicine dropper and rushed her to potty in an excited, and positive way. Then I had Barbie use the potty and praised Barbie with stickers and a special Barbie crown. (I will admit to looking like a complete fool talking to Barbie, but I am so desperate to have Addilyn out of diapers, I don't even care).

We used a timer set for 15 minutes and every 15 minutes we sat on the potty. We did this for two hours, and cam up empty. I had been feeding her salty snacks and loading her up with water, hoping for more potty opportunities, but so far it was not panning out. I thought Addy might need some encouragement, so we called Grandpa in NC, she wasn't interested in the phone call and I chatted with my dad for a minute, venting about my unsuccessful attempt so far, and I was distracted for maybe 2 minutes and in that time, dear Addilyn squats and pees on the floor. Addy and I cleaned up the accident, and I took the blame because I was distracted and not watching for the signs. Then I vowed no more distractions and reset the timer.

We played  and sat on the potty when the time went off and it was getting close to Addy's bed time so I slowed down with the water and snacks.We decided to play with her big ball and were rolling it back and forth. When Addy is standing behind the ball it comes up to about the middle of her chest, meaning I cannot see her waist and down. I rolled the ball to Addy and she held it in front of her, she was smiling and rolled it back, just in time for me to notice the puddle. Accident again. Addy laughed and ran, taking off her big girl underwear and running around yelling and laughing.

I was not laughing, I was near tears. All the blog posts and boards and tips and articles were so positive and encouraging and made it seem so easy. It was getting late so I cleaned Addy up, read some books to her to calm her down a little and put her to bed. I cleaned up all our messes and set everything up for Saturday morning, I was determined to try again. I had lost a little hope since Addy showed no real interest and the night had ended with Floor- 2 and Potty - 0.  I was trying not to force something on her she wasn't ready for, but I wanted to try. She will be 3 in the fall and I was really hoping to be done with diapers. She is so smart and we have been reading potty books and making using the toilet a regular part of her life. We talk about potty-ing all the time, but try to do it in a way that doesn't overwhelm her or leave her feeling guilty. I was holding out a little hope for Saturday, although I was a little bruised by Friday night.

Saturday morning came and I took off Addy's diaper and put on some new big girl undies. She looked at me, right in the eye and said, " Please don't make me potty, I won't do it. I don't want to." 

And that was it.

 The end of the potty training weekend. Saturday morning was over before it started. 

Everything I have read and heard says don't push them, they will regress and it will be harder. So I stopped my efforts right then. Part of me was a little let down; I was so excited Friday morning to start potty training and have a mostly trained child by Sunday; but part of me was relieved because I was tired and upset from my Friday night failure. Our day went on as any regular Saturday would, we ended up going to the store and buying some gardening supplies and gardening that afternoon. It started raining mid-afternoon so we came inside and played until bed time. Dustin and I watched a movie (Warhorse, which was surprisingly fantastic) and ate dinner and went to bed.

The potty training weekend intensive was a total bust, but I learned straight from the source that my child wasn't ready and it wasn't going to work. I am glad I have an outstandingly verbal child, because otherwise the whole day could have been a bitter battle of will and we probably would have ended two steps back rather than advancing.

Every time I have to change a diaper or purchase a box of diapers, I just have to remind myself that she will not graduate high school in diapers and that we will get there one day, today is just not that day.