Potty Training. Part II

Oh Potty Training. I TOTALLY get why I was putting you off! I pretty much will never complain again about diapers.

That being said, we are 3 days in, yet to have success and have no plans to go back.  Er what?

Since Thursday morning when the over night diaper came off and the first on many, many little girl Panties came on Madison has been doing terrific with Potty Training. She loves the Big Girl Panties and can pull them up and down like shes been doing it for Months. She climbs up and that Potty and will Sit and Sit and Sit and Sit ( etc, etc, etc.) She knows what shes waiting for, but nothing is happening. We've talked about what we are looking for, and once it starts to happen, she takes off for that toilet. BUT, no matter how much I know, and she knows that she has to potty, and no matter how long we wait... its just not happening. It will happen 2 minutes after we sat for 45 minutes, but its not happening on the potty.

That being said, I don't want to go back. She gets sad when Diapers go back on, and asks to take them off right away. Another complication is that tomorrow is Sunday, and we are generally the type that doesn't miss unless we have some shareable disease. So we are debating Stay at home and PT, or risk driving 25 miles on a loaded water gun?

So were debating, reserching and just trying to decide what the best what to handel this is. Got any tips?

POTTY TRAINING!

A few months weeks before I had Ethan, I went to Charlottesville to visit Family. Not 2 minutes after I arrived My Aunt Marilyn said " Now, I don't want to scare you, but we Potty Trained your cousin Molly the week that we brought David home. And they are EXACTLY as far apart as Madison and Ethan will be."

As soon as she said that I felt the urge to Start Madison on the Potty Training TRAIN. If you had asked me, I always said that I didn't want 2 in Diapers, but surprises happen. I did some research (PINTERET!) and thought and daydreamed. Not having 2 diaper bags? AWESOME. Id seen one person say that they replaced large diapers with size 1s and told the big kid that they'd grown to big for diapers. I saw such logic to it. I can do this! I thought. Then my aunt mentioned that my grandmother had done this, as she had been staying with them. Makes so much sense as to why my grandmother kept asking who was coming to stay with us.

Long Story short, my research told me that Madison was indeed not ready in March at 21 months. But here in August, at 26 months, we are pretty close. Here's how she rates on the readiness signs:



Physical signs
Is coordinated enough to walk, and even run, steadily. YES

Urinates a fair amount at one time. YES

Has regular, well-formed bowel movements at relatively predictable times. EH YEAH?

Has "dry" periods of at least two hours or during naps, which shows that his bladder muscles are developed enough to hold urine. YES

Behavioral signs

Can sit down quietly in one position for two to five minutes. YES

Can pull his pants up and down. YES down... working on UP

Dislikes the feeling of wearing a wet or dirty diaper. NOPE, hoping that Panties will help

Shows interest in others' bathroom habits (wants to watch you go to the bathroom or wear underwear). DEAR GOD to much

Gives a physical or verbal sign when he's having a bowel movement such as grunting, squatting, or telling you. YES

Demonstrates a desire for independence. HAHA yes

Takes pride in his accomplishments. SHE HAS AN "I DID IT DANCE"

Isn't resistant to learning to use the toilet. AS LONG AS SHES BRIBED, NO

Is in a generally cooperative stage, not a negative or contrary one. HAVE YOU EVER MET A TODDLER?

Cognitive signs

Understands the physical signals that mean he has to go and can tell you before it happens or even hold it until he has time to get to the potty.
Can follow simple instructions, such as "go get the toy." YES

Understands the value of putting things where they belong. YES

Has words for urine and stool. YES
THANKS BABYCENTER.COM




So yeah. WE think shes ready. Also about 3 weeks back she Started asking POTTY TRAIN?  And so we went ahead and took down the crib and put her into a toddler bed. Today I went and bought 20 pairs of Dora, Princess, and Fairy panties, poster board, stickers, plastic mattress liner and an extra potty seat. I still need Bribes Candy and spare sheet for the bed. The plan is to go Big Girl, or go home.  Come Thursday Ethan Will be going to play with Family, And from the moment she wakes up its GO TIME. So long Diapers till at least Sunday***

I plan to show her how to go potty using a doll, then let her try. For every success we get a sticker on the chart, for every miss a sad face. When she does miss, we will be running back and forth saying " OH no, no, no Potty here!" then to the potty "Oh Yes!! here's where we potty!" I will Also be loading the child up on her favorite forbidden ( not really) beverage. Sweet tea. 

Any tips? Advise?

*** not going the pull ups route, All or nothing from now on.***

Where can I submit a request for a Raise?

Oh Boy what a day. Now that the little ones are in bed I can relax (I refuse to look at you 3 loads of laundry that need to be folded. You do not exist right now) Today has truly been one of those that I congratulate myself for making it all alone. This morning was insane and stressful and as both kids and I were crying ( Madison woke up and hour and half early and starving and Ethan Decided not to start the day off with a nap, as for me... well i just wanted the cup of Coffee that i had made!) The thought crossed my mind. I NEED a raise. How true is that? there are countless studies such as this that discuss the financial worth of a being a mom.this being my favorite It is not for Sissy's. Dealing with diapers, and spit-up, vomit and Milk drenched toast ( Madison and her breakfast this morning...ugh) on the floor. But its not for the toughies either: "You hit your head on that thing I warned you about? Deal with it!" or "Hey kid! You haven't touched that toy in 20 min, if you are done go clean it up NOW!" its all about finding your balance. I realized while running errands that the Raise I wanted wasn't financial (not that id be sad if i got an extra 25 every two weeks) it was that I needed to be reminded that even though didn't handle 2 cranky kids and being the oh-so-not-a-morning person sleepy mother in the best manner, I did manage through it.  I managed to get us into the pharmacy, I managed to get us into music and story time... a few minutes late and in the back but we made it. Dropping things off at Brandon's office? DONE! Post office? DONE.  Fed the Kids, got them both to take a long name, fed them again, cleaned up and got them to bed. All on my own. And you know what? The fact that I survived all the mundane things in my day is my raise. That which seemed impossible at 8:30 am happened.

So here is my Challenge to all of you. If you overcame even one thing on your to do list celebrate it... and maybe pray that someone will notice and give you a financial raise or perhaps a compliment to lift up your spirits.

Blog 2.0

Time for a reboot! As i've obviously proved I am TERRIBLE at blogging and I think I finally found what the problem was ( other then the obvious lack of time and energy) I tend to senser my thoughts FAR to much because I am always afraid of offending someone. I do not want to that any more. Now, Please understand that I am not trying to use this as a tool to intentionaly hurt someones feeling, or to exagerate flaws, I just want to be honest and share my thoughts. I dont want to portray our life as Happy-go-lucky when things are hard, and as so i dont want to always feel blue when things are hard. Some of the best times come out of the 'hard stuff' moments. This has led to me wanting to rename the Blog So without further ado- Imperfectly Happy Lifes not always a bowel of Cherries- but it's still pretty great.

Year One.

It amazes me all that comes before blogging.

I cant believe that Madison has turned 1 years old. Its been said time after time that it goes by way to fast and i have to concur. Wasn't it just a week or so ago that she and I would watch the season Finale of Glee at 4 am? The first months of her life flew by. It must have been just the other day that she went to work with me and fussed while I tried to answer an occasional phone call and Brandon would I'm me telling me to quite her down because he can hear her? It has to have been last night that she would laugh and laugh when we played peek-a-boo with her 'blue bear'. That bear that she now cuddles during naps and at bed. and this morning she just stood up for the first time right? Shes not really standing for 10 seconds on her own two feet with a step or two thrown in. Please tell me no!

I rarely let myself ponder those sweet memories. I try my hardest to stay as in the moment as I possibly can.

Because I know 6 months from now I'll have even more to miss.


As Always, Misty

Christmas Traditions

Don't Worry, This isn't my Christmas Update. Its more of a Christmas Companion Rant/Post.

With this being Madison's very First Christmas, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the things I want our Family to hold near and dear for years to come when they think about the Christmas Season. Ive been reading, researching, remembering, and listening to Friends talk about what their favorite holiday memories are. What is it that defines Christmas all summed up into one moment. And I'm happy to say it wasn't about the Gifts!

When I think back on my own personal remembrances of Christmas as a Child There is only one Christmas where I can remember the Gift. I was 6 and got a TV and my sister (then 15) got a Nintendo. Ideally they were supposed to go together, however they ended up going together as well as water and oil. Other Then that though I honestly can not recall a gift I got.

What I do recall, however is the That My Father (Episcopalian) Tried very hard to teach us about what Hanukkah was all about, even though we only had a manorra made out of Aluminum Foil. My Family is Traditionally Jewish on my Mothers Side of the Family. I also remembered the Sheer Joy of a Lit, Decorated Tree and how much it brightened the house up. I remembered when all the gifts I gave were from a sale the PTA held at my Elementry School. I remembered Stockings First and Picking one new toy to pack over night to Grandma where we would go For the Roast Beef Dinner, And I remember one Christmas Spent in Charlottsville where My feet throb at the thought of stepping on my Cousins Lego's. I also remember a Christmas where I left my Warm house and willingly went to Grandmas to spend time with Family despite the fact there was no electricity and only the fire place to heat the whole house, and how it was one of the best things to happen to our family that had lost 2 of its members in two years. That Christmas we listened to Carols over a battery powered radio and played scrabble over and over with the same board my Father had as a Child and a Dictionary that Listed Eisenhower as the most recent President. They were good Memories.

I tried not to dwell on the Bad Christmas's but I reminded myself of the Lessons learned from them, and pushed on to planning Family Traditons. With a new baby we had plenty of new ones.

NEW TRADITIONS
Madison was visited, along with her second cousins early on Christmas Eve Where Santa made a quick stop out side the front door and Dropped of some New Christmas PJs. It was Adorable.

Brandon and I Read 'Twas the night before Christmas to Madison nearly every night in December along with a reading of the Story of Baby Jesus.

Pictures coming Down the Stairs for the first time on Christmas Morning.



What are some Traditions that you have?


As Always,
Misty

Losing It.

Have you ever heard of Baby Brain?

I have it. I have it NAB. (see? that was me spelling BAD.)


I assumed, wrongly i might add that 'baby brain' only lasted through Pregnancy, and seeing as i now have a beautiful, sweet 6 month old I give up that its ever going to go away.

Example A: I completely forgot for about a month how we decided to spell Maddy's middle name. Really. In Fact Brandon and I both forgot. We had to pull out her birth certificate to determine it. Now, I could argue that I forgot it because we were arguing discussing one last time how to spell Alyse during labor. And that I was on drugs at that moment.We had mentally spelled it Alyce for about 4 months or so at that point, but when the paperwork was in front of us we didn't know what to do. So in between me passing out having a contraction and once again passing out ( lightweight = me) we changed it because that was what the book said. Then 2 months into her life, we both forgot. Baby Brain.

Example B: Much more recent. I lost our address book. Completly lost it. I have had 150 cards to mail, and I simply couldnt find the book. The cards simply stared at me. I asked Brandon if he had seen it, and found out that he had no idea what it even looked like. Sigh. But I am Happy report that after looking in everyroom of our house barring bathrooms (ew) I finally found it! And wouldnt you know it was right where I'd left it?



In the Laundry room.


As Always,
Misty