Not Me! Monday

Ready to 'fess up to the not so perfect things we do every day as parents? I find it particularly refreshing and quite amusing to think back on my week and what I didn't do. Click on the photo above to visit MckMama's site to read her list this week and everyone who is linking up.

Last week I did not finish a Diet Coke at 9:30pm at night, because I'm giving it up (again) tomorrow. Not me! And I will not be the one having difficulty sleeping tonight either. I also did not just eat several cookies for the same reason.

I do not check my in my rear-view mirror at least once a week to be sure I didn't forget the baby. There's no way the thought would even cross my mind, that I might have forgotten to load her in.

I am not currently salivating over a few baby carriers that are uber-expensive. Not me. I'm a thrifty mama. Not this one. Or this one.

I certainly don't alternate between calling Gracie one of the "big girls" and one of the "babies." That would contribute to some sort of middle child syndrome.

I definately did not nurse Lily post-mud run with stubborn flecks of dirt still stuck to me and certain parts important to her.

I did not pour the pee from the potty chair into the sink because I was so tired at the end of the day. Not me!

Not Me Monday: Potty Training Edition

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I prepared this blog last week, but Not Me Mondays was on break for Memorial Day.

I did not decide to start potty-training my 2 year old this weekend. Because I am not tired of buying and changing diapers for two children each day.

And said two year old has not been bare-bottomed most of the weekend in my house, and the car, and the stroller. I did not have a brief argument with Bean about whether or not to diaper her for lunch at Rubios. I was not arguing for her just sitting on a waterproof mat. Bean was not the one who won the argument and she did not end up diapered.

I was not Tweeting about pottytraining, including photos of my kid on the potty chair, even though my boss/pastor gets my Tweets instantly.

I did not bring the potty chair with us in the van and it was not me who was dumping the (just liquid) contents of a potty chair in the bushes of two different parking lots in the city.

It was not my two year old who told me several times regarding potty training "that's yucky" and "that's gross."

Nope, that wasn't my daughter, trying to diaper herself with baby sister's diapers because she was tired of being bare-bottomed. She did not tell me this evening, "Mama, I need clothes."

In defense of all the things I did not do, it was not my daughter who only had one accident all of Saturday--save a few hour period we were at a birthday party and she was diapered.

I am not going to continue doing these same things, hoping for more success.

A Venture into Potty-training!

So we ventured into potty-training a little more than a week ago. I was inspired by my neighbors who recently potty-trained their daughter who is about 6 weeks younger than Gracie using this 3-day Diaperless program.

I had to make a few alterations because following the program 100% was not realistic for us. I'm pleased with the results so far and thought I'd share my experiences and adjustments.

The basic premise of this program is that the toddler goes diaper-free for three days, during which you stay home and encourage peeing by lots of liquids.

I will admit, going diaper-free is a bit easier with a girl than it might be with a boy. I put Gracie in dresses, so she does have some coverage and doesn't feel completely naked. She learned pretty quickly to hold the dress up to pee.

The first few days we stayed home quite a bit. Gracie definately had accidents the first several hours, but also some successes. By the end of the first day she was peeing on the potty the majority of the time. The second day was almost completely accident free.

The potty chair is in the living room and when she is resistant to sitting still, we watch a little TV or read a book and almost always sing a "potty song" (usually Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) to encourage her to sit long enough to pee. There are other suggestions in the article that we use also.

The program encourages bare-bottomed outings, bringing the potty chair along in the car. I have done this some, but usually I'm out by myself with the kids--and managing an infant, a bare-bottomed toddler, potty chair and 5yr old just isn't feasible. (I know I am brave and try a lot, but that's not one thing I'll do!)

Gracie has been in diapers most of the time when we are away from home. However, we always use the potty right before and after each trip and sometimes her diaper stays dry. She has surprised us by having a dry diaper after some of her naps and even a few mornings.

At this point, Gracie is almost accident free while we are at home--even though she's in a diaper for outings. The next step is having her in knit pants or shorts (no panties or pull-ups underneath) at home and learning to stay dry. Last night she was in knit pants for about 4 hours (including at a restaurant) and she stayed dry. Whoo-hoo!!

This has been a great program for us to use and we are progressing quickly. I'm hoping that by the end of this week Gracie will be in bottoms and staying dry--even when we aren't home. She did adjust to being bare-bottomed, but it hasn't been her favorite.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Potty-training Not Me! Monday blog and laugh at some of our funnier moments!

The View From Here

We had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Lots of family togetherness, a date night, a family birthday party, and picnicing with friends.

Bean went to a baseball game about 90 minutes away on Monday. Which meant he was gone for about 8 hours later in the day and evening.

I was glad he accepted the invitation. Bean doesn't do enough for himself. I think as a parent, especially of young children, it's important to have ocassional "me" time. Bean always supports when I want to grab coffee with a friend or go on a solo run. I always encourage Bean to do something for himself.

Bean sent me this photo to show how close their seats were to the field and how great his view was.



I of course, felt the need to respond with photos of my view at home.




Can you tell what that is? Poop on the floor. And no, we do not have a dog, or any other animals. For the record, this was just one of two pooplets and the rest of the poop DID make it in the potty!

And then there was the feverish baby I spent much of the evening holding and cooling off with a cloth.

Some nights the course of events might have driven me to the brink, but in this case I was rather calm, cool and collected. Quality family time will do that to me. I was Queen of the World!

I just found the irony rather amusing. Don't you?

Nakie Part II

So Bean tells me that last night Gracie was in the bath, but suddenly stood up and signed "all done." He confirmed with her, but she definately wanted out. She LOVES the bath and would stay in cold water for an hour! After she was dried off, she went over to the toilet and fussed at it. It didn't mean much to Bean until she pooped 5 minutes after he had put her diaper on.

She's pooped in the bathtub a few times before...so we can't help but wonder if she was actually aware of her need to poop this time. Bean was pretty convinced she was trying to tell him she had to poop.

Interesting... I may pull out the potty chair this weekend just for introduction's safe. Maybe I'll be one of those lucky moms who's child is potty trained by the time they are two. Can't hurt to take baby steps towards it!

Nakie Baby

So I have a nudist in the making, which isn't suprising if you knew her father. Bean is very comfortable in his own skin...and very uncomfortable at night now that he has to sleep in shorts! In fact, it's something he's passed on to both of his daughters. During these hot summer days Miss Rose usually runs around the house in her underwear only. She'd be mortified if she knew I was publicizing that. She's gotten really sensitive to me telling stories about her.

This morning I went in to get Gracie around 7:15. Usually I get her at 7am and she's standing up and has been awake for a bit. Since I hadn't heard her yet, I hopped in the shower first. I peeked into her room and saw she was still laying down. I was surprised, since she's usually awake. Upon a closer look I thought to myself "that's a lot of skin." As I approached the bed, I saw Gracie was laying down on her tummy (although awake) and totally naked! She'd figured out how to take her diaper off. No peed bed and a full diaper so I'm sure it hadn't been off long.

My babysitter called me later this morning and said she was naked after her morning nap (I hadn't told her about the other episode). So my baby likes being naked and knows how to take her diaper off. I guess she'll be going to be in shorts only. It's just too hot these days for her to sleep in clothes.

I know that part of this has to do with a recent fascination with "pee" and "potty." Like most mom's I quit closing the bathroom door ages ago and she always follows me in. I'll tell her "mama has to go potty." She's learned both those words and uses them sometimes when I'm changing her diaper. Bean and I both have observed her pulling at her diaper recently saying "pee" or "potty."

Now if I were a first-time over enthusiastic mom (no offense if you are one!) I'd think my child was ready for potty-training and I'd be pulling out the potty chair. But, she's not even 18 months old yet and so I realize that's a very slim possibility.

But I do take it as a good sign that she's pretty aware of what's going on and maybe there is an ever so slight chance she'll be potty trained before the baby arrives. Most likely not. I may give it a shot though towards the end of the year and see what happens.

In the meantime, bring on the duct tape. I'm afraid of the time she'll take her diaper off and it will be full of, you know what!