Potty Training @ MindSay

I have been writing articles for Associated Content for a little over a week now and I really enjoy it.  I have written for newspapers in the past and I haven't done it for a while.  My senior year in high school, I even had a weekly column in the local paper.  I've been trying several different kinds of articles and so far I focus on parenting tips, strange news from WV, humor (my first one is not published yet), and product reviews.  Anyway, I thought I would post the links to my newer articles here as I write them for anyone interested:

 

Training Dummy Prompts Emergency Services to Respond
 published on Fri, 11 May 2007 21:16:00 EDT
 MARTINSBURG WV Imagine the horror of passing a utility pole and seeing a body dangling from it That is exactly what one person witnessed during the morning hours at the intersection of Wilson Street and New York Avenue in Martinsburg on Wednesday Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/242156/training_dummy_prompts_emergency_services.html

 

Potty Training Made Easy Follow This Method for a More Pleasant Potty Training Experience
 published on Wed, 09 May 2007 20:10:00 EDT
 Potty training is something that every parent will have to endure at least once It can be trying and something that might be dreaded by most There are many mixed messages floating around and everyone has their own ideas and methods Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/238054/potty_training_made_easy_follow_this.html

 

LOreal Bare Naturale Powdered Mineral Foundation Versus Milani Minerals Loose Makeup
 published on Wed, 09 May 2007 15:40:00 EDT
 One of the hottest new items in the cosmetic industry today are mineral makeups They tout being natural good for your skin and providing a flawless look to your face Some of the first mineral makeups on the market like Bare Minerals received raving reviews Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/236928/loreal_bare_naturale_powdered_mineral.html

 

Simple Tips on How to Prevent and Remedy Your Infants Gas and Colic Issues
 published on Tue, 08 May 2007 15:51:00 EDT
 Are you the parent of a new baby Babies are fun but as we all know they sometimes get tummy aches This can range from a simple case of gas clear up to the dreaded colic  Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/234968/simple_tips_on_how_to_prevent_and_remedy.html

 

Union Civil War Soldier to Be Reburied in West Virginia
 published on Tue, 08 May 2007 08:05:00 EDT
 There are always those mysterious ancestors that perplex genealogists Who were their parents Why did they die Where are they buried  Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/237431/union_civil_war_soldier_to_be_reburied.html

 

Unusual Murder by Duel Charges Filed in Southern West Virginia
 published on Mon, 07 May 2007 14:22:00 EDT
 WELCH WV Duelingits a crime we dont hear about anymore in our modernday world Yet Steven Bryant Simpson Sr 47 of Gilliam Bottom WV has been charged with just that  Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/236525/unusual_murder_by_duel_charges_filed.html

 

Abortion How One Persons Selfishness Affects the Future
 published on Mon, 07 May 2007 13:38:00 EDT
 My recent interest in genealogy has left me pondering some big issues As I research further and further back the names of each ancestor begin to run together and all look the same We have no way of knowing each and every one of their stories  Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/234625/abortion_how_one_persons_selfishness.html

 

Public Restrooms Are No Place for a Child to Be Unsupervised
 published on Wed, 02 May 2007 14:44:00 EDT
  am writing to you about an incident that occurred in the SuperWalmart on Sunday April 22 2007 around lunchtime My three children and I had left church and stopped there when I needed to go to the restroom  Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/223588/public_restrooms_are_no_place_for_a.html

 

Can Abusive Teasing and Taunting Really Affect Someone for a Lifetime
 published on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:01:00 EDT
 Why That is a question that has been asked countless times over the past several days after the terrible tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech It is not the first time this has happened and unfortunately it will probably not be the last  Copy and paste the following code into your browser for more:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/222041/can_abusive_teasing_and_taunting_really.html

 

 

 

I feel like I've been neglecting to post and comment on others' posts. Sorry. I guess it's not obligatory, but I do care. With both girls around, my hands are full. Today Hannah is at the babysitters' until after her nap. I'm doing the laundry, tidying up, making appointments.

Was going to start calling about summer babysitters, but the course schedule for summer isn't available yet, so I don't know what hours I'm looking at. May make a few calls anyway.

I've been missing Battlestar Galactica lately. We got into it by borrowing a friend's pilot on DVD and then signed up to watch the rest on Netflix. Of course we blew threw them, at one episode a night (alright! sometimes two) after the girls went to bed, or while waiting for Clara to go to bed. Love the drama, and the characters... waiting for the season 3 dvd to come out. We don't have cable so there's no way to watch week by week. :( But I like watching an episode a night. We watched Troy over the last couple of days. Tried doing it the same way, and hour or so at a time. It was ok. Interesting, but I miss the characters I know, and it's hard to care very much about the characters in a movie because it's shortlived.

Lately, Hannah has been expressing that she wants things RIGHT NOW. I tried teaching her to say, "May I have toto puffs" (cocoa puffs) instead of "Toto Puffs! Right Now!." She had fun imitating me, but doesn't feel nearly as congenial as the polite way to ask would indicate. She is also expressing her desire to be rid of diapers, if not permanently then at least whenever I try to put one on her. I got her some underwear, and she is excited to wear them. She has a book, Big Sister, and in it the big sister wears underpants, sleeps in a regular bed, eats sandwiches and drinks from a cup. Often Hannah will quote something from the book in her daily activities. This morning I told her that the Care Bears Training Pants were Underpants. She ran to the other end of her room, looking for the book, found it and wanted me to find the page. She pointed out the big sister wearing underpants, then without a fight, stepped into her "underpants". Now, she's been wearing pull ups, and easy ons for months... but we never called them Underpants. They were the same as a diaper. But now, with the big sister book, underpants! Hoping that book comes in so handy when we switch to a big girl bed.

And Clara, in spite of feeling sick still, has slept 6-8 hours at night the last two nights. She gave Nana a run for her money Saturday night, not sleeping unless held upright. But here, with a treatment before bed, she sleeps like a rock. Not during the day, though. 15 minutes tops for most naps. I think she's outgrowing the sleep all the time phase. Maybe she just needs a morning nap and a late afternoon nap now...

So anyway, I told this story to josiejunk and she said it was totally blogable, so here it goes...

 

I've decided to start potty training Alexander early - at about 20 months of age.  Nothing really formal at this point, but I thought I would get him familiar with a toliet and what it is used for.  I would like him potty trained earlier than later because most pre-school programs that accept 3 year-olds require that the child be potty-trained.  While I know I have a year and a half to succeed at my mission, why not start early, right?

 

While we were at Grandma's house over Christmas, I decided the time was right to begin.  Alex came up to me and said very clearly, "I go kaka".  He had not gone yet, so I picked him up - and he let out a loud fart!  I knew something was up.  My mom ran downstairs to get my cousin's old training potty (my cousin is only 6 - so the potty is not 25 years old as some of you are thinking), and in the meantime, I took him to the 'adult' potty and sat him down.  I had to hold him up, because if I didn't he would have fallen right into the toliet!  All the while he was lauging and giggling.  I couldn't tell if he thought it was funny, or if he was nervous about falling into the toliet.

 

My mom finally came upstairs after cleaning off the kiddie potty, and by that time Alex didn't want to sit on any potty, let alone the kiddie potty.  So, on went the diaper - and as you moms have probably already figured out - he went number two as soon as the diaper was on!

 

Yesterday, we were at home and he decided to take off his diaper after he wet it.  So again I thought it would be good to take him to the toliet and sit him on it, on his kiddie seat.  He was more interested in playing with the toliet paper. Ha ha ha.

 

I have a nudist in my house. There is just no keeping his clothes on him these days.  And I have to admit, it is easier to take him to the potty when he thinks he has to go.  I swear, I'm not potty training, however,Joey will go pee pee almost everytime he sits on the potty.  He now recognizes when he has to poop, and he comes to let us know, but he hasn't figured out how to make his muscles let him do his business while he is sitting there, which means we make many runs to the potty, until he finally relieves himself, usually in his diaper still.  I'm ok with that, I'm not pushing the potty training, this is all his doing, and we will continue in his own time. He does get frustrated though, so if anyone knows how to teach him how to use the proper muscles while sitting on the potty, I'd be happy for some suggestions.

SO after getting a few hours of sleep, my son jumped on my head an announced that he was ready to get up. Okay. Off we go making preparations for the day's running. After hubby left we spent 20 minutes getting the shopping list, money, and whatnot all squared away. Then we were off (10:20am). I get into my car which I haven't been in since the 31st and turn it on and to my surprise there is NO GAS in it. Nice. We head to the gas station. Price: $2.55 ...pass the gas station... find another station. price: $2.53 and every outlet is nearly blocked with cars flocking to get to this gas that was only 2 cents cheaper than the previous one. Wait patiently in line, get $15 worth of gas from a sweet attendant and backtrack to the bank. Open the account. Find out we can't use the money until tomorrow. GREAT! Don't pay the gas because now I have to go and get my registration done with that money since the other is tied up till tomorrow. Go to bank #2 ask if the money will go thru this second. Girl says yes...deposit money. Come back to the house make the baby take a potty break and pay the registration online. Done. By now the kid has gotten nearly totally undone and now we have to get dressed AGAIN. Done. Time to find the Shop Rite nearest us a.k.a. a very obscurely placed huge store that you will definitely get lost trying to find. Low and behold, got lost. Stopped at the post office to ask directions. Got more obscure directions. Ended up going in a circle. Found the town it was supposed to be in, followed the signs that said "Welcome to our town" until I found the road the Shop Rite was to be located on. Went down the road and found Shop Rite, noticed Advanced Auto Parts, went into the Shop Rite. Totally lost. Shopped for nearly an hour. Didn't find two of the things on the list. More shopping to come...fantastic. Checked out with nearly irate 3 yr old. 1:30 figure out I have locked my keys in the car. FANTASTIC. Go to Advanced Auto Parts. Find man with huge backbrace. He takes a tool not meant for our car *cuz he didnt have the other in stock* and goes to the car to try and pry the lock. Nearly irate 3 yr old turns into percocious hungry tired having to go potty again 3 yr old. JOYFUL. Man with backbrace frantically tries to get the door open. Kid says he has to go potty, then changes his mind. 20 minutes later, pees his pants and thinks it's hilarious. Drag him to potty make him finish...come back out and man with backbrace has succeeded with a very satisfied look on his face. Thank and bless him and find out his name is Bill...more than likely ANOTHER WILLIAM. He goes off with a cut on his finger and pride on his back. We leave. Percocious hungry tired 3 yr old changes to Hungry Exhausted Tantrum Boy. Coax him to calm down as we take the easy road back home. Arrive 2:20 with migraine and get him food. He takes his time to eat and then lays down around 3:20. Take pills 3:30 and still have headache at 5:14. He's awake again. I blinked for 10 minutes. Made my egg jigglers the wrong way...didnt read directions well. Hard to see and understand anything with a migraine. Will see how they come out tomorrow. Did most of the current laundry in a place where $20 is like 2 pennies you accidentally drop down a grate. He is refusing to use the potty again right now and asking for snacks and juice which I refuse to give unless he does the basic things he needs to survive...no one NEEDS snacks to survive. Husband will be home around 9pm. PMS PMS PMS UGHHHHH.