Sweetness :)

Potty-Training

Ok, so I have four kids, three of which are potty-trained....or rather I should say that they use the potty and are out of diapers, as I never actually "trained" any of them.  They just learned to go when they were ready.  I didn't do much in the way of training at all.  (And as a side note, two of them were boys who waited until 3 1/2 years old to be done with diapers.  Upon learning that our fourth baby was to be another boy, I resigned myself to another solid three to four years of diaper changing.)  Well, here we are with child #4, a boy, and a miracle seems to be happening.  My fourth baby, my baby boy, is staying dry through the night and showing signs that he might be ready to use the potty.  And, unfortunately for him, I am eager to be done changing diapers after 10 years of doing just that.  So, I decided to give potty-training a try.  I planned to take the slow & steady approach and definitely held my hopes at bay.  I figured that with our busy schedules, I would carve out mornings or afternoons where we would focus on potty-training for just a few hours at a time, and maybe eventually it would click.  Tuesday morning was our first morning, and successful, I'd say.  We had three potty successes in 5 hours.  Then the diaper went back on for naptime & the rest of the day.  Here's the thing though, apparently he is a quick study.  He asks to go all the time.  Great, right?  Well....  He is decidedly against using public potties, so that's a problem.  And yet doesn't want to go in his diaper either.  He seems to have developed PTSD (Potty-Training Stress & Denial).  He is torn.  His body & mind won't let him go in his diaper, but his spirit isn't ready to be potty-trained.  So, I have a very unhappy two-year-old running around the house, holding "it," and screaming at me that he has to go potty, but refusing to go potty.  This is a new one for me--a child who is potty-trained, but doesn't want to be.  His bladder is going to be in for some serious stretching if this keeps up.  Thankfully, we have a weekend coming up with absolutely nothing scheduled (this is a small miracle in itself), so maybe we can kick the "don't want to" habit and get it all done.  Wish me luck!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Loves On Valentine's Day 2013

Here are my littlest loves with their crafty & store-bought Valentines for their classmates.  Yes, we like to be crafty & creative, but we also value some good store-bought convenience.  Daddy & I had a date night out at Tuscany Tavern with cocktails after at TBones Roadhouse, but we made sure that these guys were served heart-shaped pizza & a red fruit salad for dinner...not to mention some chocolate heart lollipops that Daddy brought home or the red velvet (Pillsbury) cookies that I made.  We do love each other.  And although, we all agree that our love should be evident all the year through, setting aside a special day to really show someone is quite fun as well.