3 Day Potty Training, Yes Please!

If you are not the least bit interested in potty training, pee, poop, sticker charts, and a princess toilets, then maybe you should check out the blog another day (this will not be reading material for ya)!

What a week!  Two weeks ago, I stated that I would begin the potty training with Sophia.  I was a little nervous about it, but I figured the girl is 3, and it is time.  I had a lot of information from girlfriends who had recently done this with their children and it looks like they all survived and their kids are doing what they need to!  So, 2 Monday's ago, I put Red in panties and every 20 minutes would drag her to the potty.  She would sit and whine and nothing would come of it!  I know!  I even showed her a sparkly chart that I had created and glittery stickers to put on whenever she mastered the task, then I showed her all of my M&Ms and Skittles, and NOTHING!  She wanted nothing to do with my dazzle me chart and handfuls of sweets.  Like any defeated mother would do I took my handful of sweets and ate them while rethinking my game plan.  During this rethinking time I cleaned up 3 accidents (which happened to be moments after we left the potty after our 20 minute intervals)!  Geez!  So, I went and got out our trusty size 6 Pampers and put them back on Red... she could have cared less.

So, after a recent post I had done on how I was going to potty train the tot, a friend sent me an email telling me about this super genius mother who had written an ebook about, 3 Day Potty Training.  Umm, yes please!  3 days and she will be going to the bathroom, okay, now we are talking.  I read the book, a little skeptical, but I read it.  My friend had read it and it worked with her children and she had given it to her friends and not 1 of them had not been successful!  So, either I try the technique and have Red potty trained or not try the technique and Red not be potty trained.  So, I try.

So, I read Lora Jensen's words of wisdom and the whole time, I was like DUH!  She says that if your child is 22 months of age, they are ready and this will work!  Hello, Red is 36 months!

 Last Monday, Red and I said goodbye to her diapers and hello big girl panties!

I will not lie.  There were accidents.  In fact, the whole first day there were accidents.  In fact, every hour there was something, but I just stayed positive, kept reminding Sophia to tell me when she had to go (so much that she told me many times, I KNOW!!)  After a sappy phone call to my momma after the end of day 1, oh, woe is me!  She will go to college in diapers.....

Red ran into the room and said she had to teetee in the potty!!!

Well, she did!  We cheered, there was dancing, I even teared up (I'm a sucker), there were glittery stickers, and Skittles, and the Hungry Hungry Hippo game.  It was bliss.

Ten minutes later.... she pooped in her panties... but I just clung to that 1 success!

Day 2, no lie, it was hard.  The first part of the day, there was a lot of soap and blotting on my carpet.  Late that afternoon, the girl finally got it!  After her nap (which she slept in her panties) she woke up we tee-teed, and then the rest of the day was good!  There was even poop!

Day 3, we left the house for 1 hour, and she did not go in her panties!  I had the potty in the car and that worked for her!  Yes, there was probably 2 accidents, but she was getting it!

So, in 3 days, girlfriend had it figured out.

We still have about 2-3 accidents in the day, but that is okay, she is still learning her body and figuring this all out.  I could not totally throw out the diapers (like the technique says to do), she sleeps in one at night, but it is pretty dry in the mornings.

So, would I tell my friends to read this?

Yes!

Did it work for us?

Yes!

Will you have to totally devote yourself to your child for three days?

Yes, I thought I already did that, but this is constant time with the child.  No checking emails, talking on the phone, cooking, laundry.  Just sitting with your child, playing, reading, talking, coloring, the whole day and night (never left her side)!

Side note:  we did go to church on Sunday, I was told by Sophia's teacher that she was not in fact ready for panties at church!  She went through 3 panties and 3 outfits, in fact she came home in some sad put together outfit that had been given to the nursery and another child's diaper!  I really thought that she would be able to do the potty thing at church!  It's a tot size pot, and being able to see that her friends do the same thing would help, but sadly it did not!  We are still working on this, but I am positive that when college comes along we will be out of the Pampers!  Yes!

3 Day Potty Training by Lora Jensen!  Read it!  Live it!  Love it!!

If you try it let me know if it worked for you!

Summertime fun inside??

I have seen this on Facebook so many times lately, and I just thought it was too funny not to post!

Seriously, it is so hot outside!  So hot, that me and my little ones are constantly hanging out in the house!  Is anyone else doing the same thing, day after day?  I have been trying to find fun blogs or things on Pinterest that show lots of indoor entertainment ideas for toddlers, I am having some luck, but I just thought I would see what you and your peeps are doing.

Art time, lots and lots of art time!  Everyday, we color, use the big dot markers, do water colors, and play with stickers.  I am a HUGE fan of the 1+1+1=1  blog site and The Confessions of a Homeschooler blog.  I have printed off some of there worksheets with numbers, tracing, and the alphabet, and laminated them so the kids will color and color and then just wipe away (this is saving me from printing the same thing over and over again!  These women are so great and always have fun ideas for tot entertaining!  I also recently came across a blog, Play at Home Mom of 3 site that had super fun things to do with kids of all ages.  The mom even blew up a black tarp in her home (with and oscillating fan) and then threw in glow in the dark sticks and balls and light up stuff.... who thinks of this stuff??  These gals are genius!

 Using play dough to shape the letters.  We are playing and learning, LOVE IT!!

Yesterday, since watercolors are getting pretty old, and they all look black and brown in the tray, I broke out some finger paint, which turned into body paint and then hair paint and then a little bit of floor paint (which is where I drew the line and this normally laid back mom became cray cray lady and decided paint time was OVER)!

They loved being able to use "mommy's brushes".

Last week, I painted one of our kitchen walls with chalkboard paint.  Well, this has turned out to be so fun for Sophia and Brayden!  It was so worth the 45 minutes that it took for me to paint it, and the fact that it is a tiny side wall that is all black, does not bother me in the slightest.  It adds a lil something fun to the kitchen.  I have even chalked out a calendar and the Razorback football schedule.  Aron is excited to write WIN next to each game when we come home from the big match-ups!  Woo-pigs!

 Beans.  Who knew.  A couple of dried beans, some shovels and bowls on a blanket would keep these people busy for an hour!  An hour!  Yes!  The clean up was not bad either!  I just gathered up the sheet and poured it into that blue box then poured that into a very large ziploc baggie!  Tada!

 More chalkboard!  Red is writing her name.

 We have watched countless hours of Disney Jr and PBS, but I start to get worried when my kids know the words to some of the intro music for their favorite shows!  So I am trying to limit the television and movies.

We have a slide that I brought in from the outside and that has been good and bad (seeing that they cannot slide at the same time, a few fights have broken out)!

This morning, I even took the kids outside (but it was 8)!  Yes, I am sure that my neighbors love me after listening to a shrieking match with the kids and me constantly yelling, "don't touch the dog's poop!"  The joys of motherhood!

I am also working with Red on potty training.  I have started that just today, and I cannot wait to write the biggest blog post ever about that!  I was going to start it last week, but a friend, Raven sent me informed me about this E-Book, 3 Day Potty Training website here, and I have a whole new outlook on this experience!  So far, it has been a long day, but there has been 1 success!  More to come on that.  Anyways, I have been so close to her all day, reading, playing, and singing (she even told me to go to my room)!  As you can tell, we are in very close quarters, so if you are doing something super fun at your home, please help a mutha out!

It's My Potty and I'll Go If I Want To!!

Today we will be discussing all thing poo!

If this is not something that interests you in the least, then check back tomorrow, because this post is all things potty training!!  Yay!

Okay, honestly, I am not so pumped up about this conversation or about bodily functions in general, but we are getting ready for the training in our house.  Red will be "3" this next week, and I really think that it is time to climb aboard P-Train.

So, the other day we went to the store and looked for the most beautimous panties a 3 year old could ever want and a few treats for potty time rewards.  Who knew that Tinkerbell drawers and Skittles would get children so pumped to dump (okay that was so gross, but it rhymed!) to go potty!  When we got to the front of the store to check out, Red could not wait to tell the checker outer gal that she has to pee in the potty and then she can eat (which kind of made it sound like I starve my child to go to the potty, but whatev).

Step 1:  Obtain the appropriate gear....

 Check!

So, last night, I was able to have a chat with a few gal pals who have been there, done that, and bought the "I potty trained my child" t-shirt.  I was asking for any tips, encouragement, and got a lot of stories (some that will give me hope and then some that will make me feel better if the whole training thing does not work out).

Here are some of their ideas:

1.  Bribes... (cha-ching, check out my above photo, skittles and mm's)

CHECK

2.  let them pick out their panty/ underwear and a potty chair/ seat

CHECK

3.  really encourage the child and talk about going potty

I think that this picture is very funny.

I just cannot picture me and Sopia having a feel good moment/ heart to heart while hanging round the ole potty, but it looks like this mommy and son are having the best time ever!

4.  read books about potty training... we have a few of these

5.  Stickers on a chart, this way they can see how they are doing and show off their rewards to others.

I just love a chart, so this might be something that could work for us!

 6.  Take them to the potty every 30 minutes, even if they do not need to go.

7.  Prayer.... pray that they will get a hold of this thing and not go to college in diapers! Ha!

8.  start the training on a week when you will not be leaving the house

So, I think that I am at a great starting point.

I have received some great advice from friends who have done this before, and it looks like they have survived.  I am going into this knowing that it will not be easy, but if I stay on top of it and do not give up that Red will be successful.  I just need to be patient, and not fa-reek out if pee/ poo gets on my carpet or furniture.

What do you think, am I missing anything.

Is there something that did not work or worked better for you, I have a few days to get a game plan!