Meltdowns of a Mommy

So, we have been in potty training mode over here for one full week. I am not going to sit here and say the girls are potty trained because they aren’t, but we are working on it. I have one kiddo who went over 48 hours without an accident and stayed dry during naps and night time. Yeah me! Oh wait, until today at the playground when she ran up and said “change me I have poop”. At that moment I was happy to be using pull ups while out. Those pull ups also helped when kiddo number two had to poop at that same playground this afternoon and couldn’t get to the potty in time because some random stranger kid would not leave me alone and get off of our travel potty. I guess this is just her first lesson of others getting in the way of your succeeding and my first lesson to learn to say “I know your mommy is too busy on her I-phone to play with you but I do not want to be your friend”. We have a number of trips to the public potties while out, 8 in one visit to Taco Bell, 5 at the rec cen...

Before having kids I was “that” person. The one who would judge moms and their kids when I was out. The running dialog in my head went a little like this; “wow she looks bad, can’t you get your kid to sit down, is anyone watching this kid, can you get your kid out of my way, really do you need to take up the whole aisle, can you get your kid to be quite …”. Yep, “that” person who judges what they don’t know and always said “When I have kids they will never …” and here enters karma. I have seen the looks that others have given me as I have walked through stores with a child in questionable behavior, a bow in my hair that I forgot I put there as a joke a few hours before and most likely either food on my clothes or my favorite a sticker on my butt that the girls either put there or I sat on. Yes judge away, I deserve it for all the times I did the same but understand that as soon as you transition from a cat person to a mommy karma is going to get you as well. I have learned to take...

“I go pee pee on Mommy’s deck, I have accident, my panties not dry”. This is the statement I heard chanted over and over this afternoon after our one and only accident. She had told me she needed to go potty 5 times already and sat there for 2-3 minutes each time and then said she was done. I guess the 6 th time just did her in. The good part of this was with a bucket of water all was clean and I know the concept of using the potty and staying dry is sinking in. All in all we had one “hit” and one “miss” today because I have learned that my girls can hold it all day! They woke up wet this morning and wet after nap but they have perfected the art of holding it. Now when they learn how to let it go we will be in business. The other thing I heard every hour today was “I hear timer, I dry, I get special treat”. I guess they have figured out that reward system seeing as their potty charts have not gotten enough stickers yet for a dollar store prize. All in all though we are moving f...

So, after my last post I did a great deal of mommy soul searching. I realized that I was so stuck on making potty training work that I didn’t really set out a plan of how I was going to make it work. I just knew what I had read, advice I had gotten from others, and what baby center was telling me but didn’t know where I stood. To be honest I think I avoided taking a stand on how I was going to do because I didn’t want to deal with the back lash of others who maybe don’t see it my way (flash back to the “what do you mean you’re not going to breast feed drama from a few years ago). So love it or leave here is my plan – I am going to focus on staying dry and using the potty the hours the girls are awake. Nap and night will come later when days are going well. When we leave the house we will use pull ups (go ahead and judge) but I can’t even wrap my head around the embarrassment I would have leaving a puddle in target, Costco, the mall, etc. The girls get a sticker on their chart for go...

I have spent the last 12 hours on high alert – rushing kids to the potty, watching for signs, cleaning the floors and I am exhausted. You might wonder what the fruits of these labors were and the daily record stands at 4 successful potty uses and 8 accidents. These girls amaze me! They must have logged at least 2 hours on the potty today. They would sit there for up to 20 minutes and nothing. Shockingly enough they both stayed dry during nap and I will take cleaning the floors over cleaning the bed any day! While we are not potty trained after Day 1 I did have some important take aways from the day. 1.        DO NOT wear long pants when potty training your kids. When the pee hits the floor it come at you like the “Blob” and will get you wet as well. 2.        If you think poop in a diaper smells bad just wait until you smell it in a waterless mini potty after your kid has been sitting on it awhile telling you she is stil...

Today is Potty Day Last night as the girls were going to sleep they were repeating the mantra I have been saying for days, “tomorrow we wear big girl panties… we poop and pee in the potty…we get sticker for our chart” and I was filled with hope. I then realized that they will also call for “Toddles” with Mickey Mouse not truly understanding what they are doing but just following along. In short, I am raising lemmings and followers. These issues will have to wait for another day though, because today is potty day. As the girls slept soundly last night not really understand what the morning would bring I was up most of the night thinking about it all. Gather all towels and old burp cloths, hide all dress up clothes, if we go outside what shoes are best, and so on and so on. To try to calm my mind I realized I need to have a goal in mind so that I could gage if the day was a success. I decided that the day is a success if we do not run out of clean dry underwear without doing laund...

A Tale of Two Potties It was the best of times, it was the worst of time...it is time to start potty training my girls.   I have to be honest, I LOVE DIAPERS! I love the freedom that diapers give you when you have a toddler. I can run errands all day, have a play date, or go on an outing and not have to worry about where the closest bathroom is (and how clean it is) or look for signs that my kids might be on the verge of an accident. I even love diaper butt in leggings. Now, you may wonder why a mommy who loves diapers so much and whose kids are not yet 2 ½ years old would take on potty training if there is no rush. The answer to this question is easy, mommy per pressure. It seems like every time I turn my head another one of the girls’ friends is making the transition to big kid underwear and I don’t want the girls to be left behind. Scratch that, I don’t want to be left behind as all of my mommy friends get their potty training merit badge. So, that brings us to our curr...

So, this is me as a mommy. A title I always knew I could have but one I never thought that I would get. I always said that kids smell funny and were a lot of work. Well, I was not wrong they do smell (currently mine smell like pee and wet animal crackers) and this is the hardest job I have ever had. I think motherhood is harder them my past jobs because I care about this one. If I fail, gulp, or get fired, I can't just find something new or move on. To get my title I gave birth to two wonderful needy things at the same time. Yes, I am a lucky mommy of twins who are now almost 2 1/2 years old. Having twins is hard work, not because there are two of them and only one of you, but because people always stop you and ask you one of the following - * Are they twins? * Are they identical? Always followed up by "Are you sure" * Do twins run in your family? * Is IVF hard? (yes, some people think that is the only way people get twins) * How do you tell them apart? These q...