Victory is mine!

I think it has finally clicked. I think Aaron may be getting a hold of this potty training thing and I may not have been crazy to attempt this before a vacation. Victory, quite possibly, is mine.

Yesterday was hands down his best day of potty training. He went multiple times and we were not sitting in there for a half hour each time. 

He is incredibly proud of himself and insists on showing you his stickers every five seconds, even if he is talking to you via phone, you have to comment on his stickers. 

Thank you for all your good potty vibes, and thank you Mandy for the "psssssttttttt" trick! 

Making Progress

We've been potty training Aaron for the past week. No diapers, no Pull-Ups, strictly underwear. Last week was enough to make me totally bananas, this week has gotten better though. He's earned a handful of stickers (thank you Tay Tay for sending them over!).

I've been able to get him to go potty in the morning and back on the potty in the afternoon (even though he won't go). We are still having nightly accidents, but we are making progress. I really think at this point it's a game of who is more stubborn. I fully intend on winning this.

Keep sending positive thought our way, Lord knows I need them!

Memorial Day Weekend

We definitely had a busy weekend! Saturday friends of ours had a pool party, one that they have every year. The last time we went to the party the kiddos were only 2 or 3 weeks old. It was their first official outing, I believe.

This year they spent almost the entire time in the pool. They had so much fun splashing around with everyone! Thanks again Kathy and Gary for hosting an amazing party!

Sunday was our anniversary so that night we went to EPCOT for dinner. Naturally, there was a tropical storm/depression on the move. Thankfully, it held off while we were outside.

We had dinner at Le Cellier in Canada. This is one of Scott's favorite restaurants on property. As always, it was super delicious. 

Yesterday we just hung out at the house because it's pretty much been raining since Sunday night. I'm attempting to get Aaron potty trained before vacation, and he told me he will just stay home and wear his diapers. Fabulous. 

How was your weekend?

Yup, still in diapers...

We are almost one week out from the kiddos 4th birthday, and preschool is on the horizon. I'm literally losing my mind over here. No, not because my babies are not babies anymore (ok, well a little), but because Aaron is still in diapers. For real. Tonight I was researching if not being potty trained by 4 was normal and what I found upset me beyond words that I had to write a post.

I was on a message board reading what people were saying to this one woman who posted exactly what I was wondering. Most people were supportive but one woman, dear Lord. Her exact words were "Oh come on!", she basically blamed the woman for not "trying hard enough" or "sticking to her guns" and it was all her fault, she was putting her child at a disadvantage. Now I know she wasn't talking to me, since I didn't ask the question, but I took serious offense to it.

It's not that we haven't tried with Aaron, we have...a lot. The problem is he will refuse to go and will hold it all day and then pee in his bed. (Aaron if you are 18 and reading this, I'm sorry) He knows when he has to go, but he just won't do it. Jill was trained in 2 days...2 DAYS! I feel like I've been trying to train Aaron forever and that he may go to college in diapers/Depends.

Help me, please. Any tips you have would be awesome, but don't be mean and judgy like the woman on the message boards.

Apparently you get a sibling on Labor Day

First a potty training update....Jill is still doing amazingly well, Aaron...well he's on a break. He was getting to the point that he was holding it all day (12+ hours) and Scott and I were worried it was going to end up traumatizing him, so we decided to wait and try again later. I'm thinking we made the right call on this and maybe after he watches Jill continue to get praise he will follow suit. Hopefully....

We made our first out of the house trip with Jill and again, she did great. Granted, we didn't go all that far, just to Mimi and Paw Paw's. The kids love swimming up there and are getting more and more brave with each visit.

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Don't you just love my three children? ;)

Yesterday morning we took advantage of the not so crazy hot weather and rode bikes. Well, Jill rode hers and Aaron made a pouty face because he wanted to be "outside" as in the backyard.


I had to remind him the front yard counts as "outside", but he didn't seem to care.

So now onto the seemingly hilarious news...Jill asked to go to store this morning and naturally, I lied and said it was closed. I informed her it's a holiday and the store isn't open. Her response? "A holiday! Woo hoo! We have a baby? A brother sister?" Say what?! Aside from Christmas I know of no other holiday that involves a baby being born. A no, there's no baby brother or sister on the horizon. Well, not yet anyway.

I hope all of you have a fantastic holiday weekend! Stay safe!

And 3 hours later....

Last night I took my break from potty training and went grocery shopping. I mean, it's not really a "break" or anything, but at least I wasn't taking anyone to the potty or cleaning up any accidents. Anyway, when I stepped into the store I saw the store manager, he's super nice and he asked where my helpers were. I told him we were potty training and I got the knowing nod; he's potty training his soon-to-be 3 year old daughter and it's not going well. I am so there my man...so there.

After getting my shopping done the awesome store manager bagged my groceries and walked me out so we could keep talking about potty training. He said his 5 other kids weren't this hard. Yup, 5. I mentioned I was the youngest of 6 and he laughed and said "Well you seemed to have turned out alright, so there's hope yet!". I'll pause so everyone in my family can stop laughing and wipe the tears from their eyes.....We good? Ok then... But it got me to thinking about my Mom potty training all of us, I think I would have tied my tubes...myself, especially after a day like today.

Aaron finally went on the potty yesterday and I was so excited, it was like being in that last stretch of the half marathon, the end was near, cue the Gospel choir. He woke up dry this morning so I knew he was going to have to go at some point this morning. After sitting in the bathroom for 3 hours...yes 3....nothing happened.

He asked if he could take a nap and I gave in. I was delirious by this point and Jill had found a glue stick (this clearly is a topic for another post) so something had to give. I tucked him in and Jill and I settled in for some Snow White goodness. Fast forward two hours....

Aaron throws open the bedroom door so I can hear it. I get up and head over to him to take him back to the bathroom, which he is standing in front of at this point. He gives me the "eff you Mommy" look and begins to pee on the floor. Yup, outside the bathroom. I try to get him into the bathroom and onto the potty and the flood gates open. The entire time he is staring at me like some character from a Stephen King novel. I half expected an evil laugh, no lie. So he finishes and I get him cleaned up and it's like nothing happened. "I love you Mommy!" "Do you need help Mommy?" Are you for real? I hope all of his children do this to him when he and his poor wife are potty training them.

Now I have to get my game face back on and pray that it works.

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott letting me just veg out after he got home from work yesterday. It was the longest day with potty to date.
  

• Aaron keeping his sense of humor during this whole ordeal. He's only made it on the potty once, and it was by pure accident. All other times have been on the floor or in his bed, but he keeps asking for a sticker.
  

• Jill who has done sooooooo well with potty training! I thought getting her to poop on the potty would take longer but she's mastered it in a few days. Also, she went up to Aaron and said "We poop and pee in the potty not pants", it was hilarious.

• Family who provide comic relief.

• Mandy reminding me I need a chocolate break every once in a while.

• Coffee...it's how I'm surviving.

What are you thankful for this week? Link it up below or leave it in the comment section.

Potty Training...For Real This Time

Today is the end of day 3 of potty training in our house. The fact that I have made it to today, and have only broken down into tears of frustration today impresses me more than you will ever know.

When I announced we were "throwing away" all of our diapers on Sunday the kids looked at me like "Yeah, ok lady". Then I put them in their underwear and Jill lost it. She wanted her Elmo back (that's what she calls her diapers). For someone who put up such a fuss she did amazing and only had one accident on the first day. She only had one accident on day two as well. Both times she pooped, which is something I expected. She hasn't had any accidents yet today, I could not be more proud of her. As you can see by the photo, she's pretty proud of herself too.



Aaron, on the other hand, is still waiting for me to put a diaper back on him. He only made it into the potty once, and really it was by accident. All of the other times he has peed on the floor and then exclaimed "I did it!" and asked for a potty sticker. Um, that's not how it works kid.


I'm going to hold strong and not cave and give Aaron his diapers back. I think once he finally goes on the potty we will hit our stride and it will be smooth sailing from there. I think by the end of the week I'll be ready to take Jill out and about, but probably not Aaron. Now that wave of panic has come over me on locating bathrooms in every location we go. This shall prove to be interesting to say the least.

Finally, I have to say thank you to the lovely Mandy of Twin Trials and Triumphs because she has given me a daily reminder to have a handful of chocolate to make it through. Love ya gal!

About this potty training thing....

I don't know what I was thinking trying to potty train the kids before we go to Chicago. I've been making myself, and therefore them, crazy the past two days. This being said, we're done until we get back.

Jill did really well yesterday and only had one major accident, but she is not anywhere near ready when it comes to naps and bedtime. Aaron could really care less and holds it until bedtime and then he's soaked. When we get back we're going to start following the 3 Day Potty Training system and see what happens.

Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone!

Potty Training Day 1

There are days when I wonder if I've completely fallen off my rocker, and yesterday my friends, was one of those days. When I woke up I told myself I'm going to potty train these two kids! I'm pretty sure I was delirious by the time Scott got home from work.

Day one went as well as it could have gone I suppose. We went through 8 pairs of underwear (6 for her 2 for him) and had a few accidents. At a certain point it dawned on me that they are just holding it until they get a diaper at nap and bedtime. Jill did manage to go on the potty last night before bed, which at that point was the most exciting part of my day. I think when it comes down to it she needed to see for herself that it's ok to go on the potty.

I'm hoping today goes better and that I keep some of my sanity.