My thoughts on potty training...

Let me first start this post by saying that I have absolutely no authority over potty-training rules, and I have no scientific evidence to back what I'm saying here. But I do have two potty-trained toddlers, and I have lots of friends with toddlers, some of whom have asked my advice, plus I have a 3rd child coming up in need of potty-training. So, if nothing else, I type this to refresh my own memory!

I consider a child potty-trained when they can wear panties/underwear in public. But how do we get to that point? Here are the phases as I have seen them.

Phase one--Are they ready?
During this phase, your diaper wearing baby will start to let you know when they need a new diaper. They may insist on being clean at all times, and they may even go to a private place in the house to hide while they use the bathroom in their diaper. Oh yes, my friend, they are ready to be potty-trained!

Phase two--Panties in the house
Pick a week or two when you can spend almost every waking hour at home. I know, I know it sounds impossible, but it's really not. This is to give your little darling as much panty/underwear time as possible. Stock up on all your favorite floor cleaners; you'll need them the first couple of days especially. On the first morning, if they wake up dry, have them sit on the potty to use the bathroom. It may take a while, and they may refuse to sit as long as it takes. If they do not use the bathroom in the potty, put their panties on them and retry every 10-15 minutes until they either use the bathroom in their panties or the potty. Either way they'll feel the sensation. For the next few days, focus on the potty. You know from changing their diaper regularly about how long they go between tee-tees so about 10 minutes before it would be time for a diaper change, have them sit on the potty. If they are truly potty-training ready, it won't take them long to figure out the feeling before the pottying, and they'll be getting to the potty in time with few accidents. It's important to remember that during this phase they are learning to know when to use the potty, but they may still not know how to hold it until they can get to the potty so accidents will still occur. When you do have to go out in public during this phase, strap on the diaper or a pull-up and hit the road. (Trips to town are the only time I suggest pull-ups!) If they tell you they need to use the bathroom while you're out, pull in to the first convenient store, bank, grocery store, friend's house, whatever and let them go.

Phase three--Panties in public
This phase comes on gradually. You'll be hopping along in the latter stages of phase one, where they're making it to the potty almost every time, but you're still not sure about car trips because you can't always guarantee that you'll be able to stop so they're still in their diapers or pull-ups, and then it will happen. You'll be driving to Wal-Mart; they'll tell you they need to use the bathroom. You'll say, "Oh honey, there's nowhere for Mama to stop. It's okay. Go ahead and use the bathroom in your pull-up." You'll cycle this conversation over and over again until you reach your destination, and there you'll realize that they haven't used their pull-up. You'll run in to the store, hold them over the cleanest toilet, and they'll let it flow. They've held it! Wow! They're such big kids! A few more times like this, and you'll get brave enough to pack an extra outfit and let them ride to town in panties! Eventually you'll forget the extra outfit because you never use it, and wall-lah they're potty-trained!

Keep in mind that during this phase they may still have night-time accidents and may still need overnight pull-ups or diapers.

Phase four: Panties at night
This is the long awaited phase, where you can stop buying diapers and pull-ups altogether. They're wearing panties, or underwear, at home all the time, you never even consider not letting them wear panties or underwear in public, but those night times still make you nervous. They still wake up wet every now and then, so you don't want to risk them wetting the bed. Eventually, though, you'll realize that it's been a long time since they've woken up wet. You may have even made it through an entire package of pull-ups, and you'll think, "Good grief, what a waste of money!" If you're like us, you'll buy one more package, for just in case, but you'll go ahead and let them wear panties while they sleep. You'll freak out if they ask for a drink before bed, and you'll make them use the bathroom and really empty that bladder before they go to sleep. And in the morning, they'll wake up dry! And the next morning, they'll wake up dry, and the next morning they'll wake up dry! Whew! The potty training is done!

Keep in mind that children get to these phases at different ages and will spend different amounts of time in each phase. For example, our son was potty-trained at 22 months, but now at four years old, he still sleeps in a pull-up. Our daughter was potty trained at 18 months, and now at 2 1/2, she sleeps in panties and never has an accident. My now 18 month daughter is in phase one. We're not convinced that she's ready for phase two just yet.

Don't try to push them to or through the phases. You'll only frustrate yourself. Go with the flow, poor pun intended! Happy pottying!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

As for me, here's what I have not been doing!

*I have not rocked my Ferberized 18 month old to sleep the last..umm..3 or 4 nights because she's teething, and I can't bare to hear her cry when I think she might be in some sort of pain!

*I did not bring my grade book and lesson plans home to do over the weekend, only to take them back to work this morning and do them very quickly while 1st period took a test!

*I did not substitute a can of chili for taco meat in a recipe tonight because I was afraid our hamburger meat might not have withstood Saturday's power outage! (by the way, if you ever do think that you can substitute a can of chili for taco meat in a recipe, you would be mistaken!)

*We did not take McDonald's in to Red Lobster yesterday simply to avoid paying out the rear for food my kids won't eat anyway!!

*I did not just use the expression "out the rear!"

*I did not feel just the tiniest bit nostalgic today while looking at videos that we took just a year ago of our kids who have grown up so much in that little bitty year! Where does the time go?

Show of homes

I have fallen in love with this blog so I thought I would participate in her show of homes! (Even though mine is really nothing to show!)

We'll begin with an overview of the living room as looking from the kitchen. Pardon the four year and one year old making their city. I have the furniture so spread out to allow for lots of play room for our three tots.

This is a bookshelf that my sister had in her house when she was single. I love it! It's so big. On top the picture in the middle (that should be hanging) was given to us by our young married group as a going away present when we moved from Conway to Texarkana like 6 years ago!

This chair my mother-in-law gave me after I found out I was pregnant with my second child, Ainslee. I love it! The pictures on the wall are some of my favorites too. They are each of the kids when they were exactly one month old. They're in almost the same position with almost the same background!

This is our end table with one of our nebulizers. I should have turned that picture around because it's one of my favorites. It's of Layton kissing Ainslee's forehead when she was just a few weeks old, and he was about 18 months old.

This is probably my least favorite part of my living room. I'm a horrible decorator, and it shows right here!

This is one of my favorite things. I wanted a chest like this the whole time I was living single, and my parents got it for me when I graduated from college. It was made in 1880. It used to be more of a focal point in our living room, back when I had a focal point and decorations. Now it's tucked to the side and is holding the second nebulizer. The mirror I also love for some reason. My mom bought it at a garage sale when I was like in middle school, and I put it in our house when Trey and I first go married.

Ainslee, the little mother

Based on these two pictures and Ainslee's play habits, I truly believe she will either run a day care, a foster home, or give birth to may children!


Here she is ready to accomodate six babies. Notice how she's watching over them as they sleep. She does this all time! She'll usually tell us to be quiet so the babies can sleep!

This picture was back in December! She has a double stroller, and Ava is pushing the single stroller. Sometimes Ainslee will get the double stroller and have the grocery cart beside her and will tell Ava to push the single stroller! She's going to be a great mom!

Easter morning

I know..I know..Easter was like a month ago, but I haven't posted pictures of them in their cute, coordinated Easter outfits!! Layton's shorts and Ava's outfit were actually from last year (Ava wore Ainslee's from last year). I found Ainslee's on Ebay and bought Layton a new shirt to go with the shorts, and my sister made their bows!

A few pictures...

It's been a while since I've posted some pictures on here so ....



Here are the kids before Layton's first t-ball game. Ainslee's and Ava's shirts have Layton's number and say "sister" on the back!

This was a cute sister moment I couldn't help but capture! Ainslee told Ava to sit in her lap!

Then Ainslee moved over to the chair, and Ava followed!

This was on a Saturday, and the kids were in Ainslee's room playing. When I walked in, I asked them what they were doing, and Layton replied, "We're pretending that we're watching TV." Something just doesn't seem right about that! =)

Not Me Monday...

Let me just say that I LOVE Not Me! Monday on McMama's blog! I love reading everybody's posts and laughing at what everybody certainly did not do this week! So here goes...

*I am not posting this in a last minute effort to win a prize!

*I did not try to check all my favorite blogs at work today, knowing that blogs are blocked, just because I was having blog withdrawals! I only work at work!

*I have not read the online verson of the rough draft of Midnight Sun twice because I was having Twilight withdrawals! Isn't Twilight just for teenage girls???

*I did not go crazy, thinking that maybe, just maybe I might be pregnant with my fourth child, even though I had my tubes tied 18 months ago! And I certainly did not have my facebook, twitter, and myspace status change already in my head! Luckily I will definitely NOT (seriously not!!!) have to use that status change! (Does everyone get that that particular not is not part of Not Me! Monday???? I'm not pregnant, people! Lay off!)

*I did not use the word chillax this week! That's definitely only for the teenagers!!

*And I did not tell my two year old to wait just a minute to use the bathroom so that I could finish this post, and I did not snap at my husband for his impatience while I type!