How Super Nanny Potty Trained My Kid

Potty Training. I know right. If your not a mom, you really don't get how amazing it is to teach another human being not to crap their pants.

It seems so easy. Natural. No one likes to sit in their own feces. Right? Wrong. Lucy was the happiest with poop in her pants. She played so nice and quiet all by herself when she was "dropping the kids off at the pool" and was in no hurry to get cleaned up.

So potty training has not been easy. She actually likes sitting on the potty, has for a long time, she just never seemed to understand the feeling you get before you pee. Or at least, she didn't care enough to pay attention to it.

That is, until we watched Super Nanny.

First of all, any given episode of Super Nanny will either make you feel like Super Mom, or you will start filming your own submission tape. Well the episode we watched had a 3 1/2 year old boy who 1.) refused to go potty and 2.) was a terribly picky eater.



Dear Super Nanny.....

So I decided to take this opportunity to make Lucy watch it with me, and talk about what the little boy did that was "naughty".

She got really into it, and so we decided the next day when she woke up, we would be all done with diapers, and wear Big Girl Panties.

Confession: I was not very motivated to follow through. But Lucy remembered.

So this morning we took off her diaper from the night before and put on panties.

And then she went to the potty. And decided she didn't want her "Dora Seat" (the kid sized seat we have to put on the toilet). And would just hold herself up on the seat.

And then she fell in the potty.

And I didn't even laugh out loud! Or freak out because she was in the dirty potty! I calmly cleaned her up and put her Dora Seat back on and then she

PEED.

Awesome. But not totally new. She's peed occasionally  Usually a coincidence  If you make your kid sit on the potty all day, she'll eventually pee in it.

She sat on it a lot more all day, like every 10 minutes. Totally her own choice. I wondered how long this would last, and was glad she didn't need me to help her each time.

And then.

AND THEN...

We where sitting on the couch together. Lucy, me and Dora. Watching some TV. And Lucy turns to me and says "Hey mom, will you hold Dora for a few minutes while I go pee?"

"Sure kid."

"Thanks." toddles off to the bathroom, sits on the potty.

And then I hear the most beautiful sound.

tinkle. tinkle tinkle.

"MOOOOOM!!! I DID IT!"

And she did. She peed all by herself, she felt it coming and she did it.

Hallelujah. She's LEARNING! I THINK SHE'S GOT IT! BY GEORGE I THINK SHE'S GOT IT!"

This only just happened today, so I may be celebrating and blogging prematurely. But I swear to you the moment I hear the sweet sound of:

"Plop. Plop Plop."

I will be tweeting it. And instagraming a hipster filtered photo of the contents of that big potty. And posting it on facebook and tagging my husband in it.


EDIT: I just got peed on. Sigh. 

Thrift Store Treasures

I love thrift stores. And there are some really great ones very close to me. My favorites? Ok, I'll share:

1. The Depot. In Goshen, right next to the Old Bag Factory. This is a great place for anything. Furniture, clothes, dishes. And also has a pretty great selection of antiques and craft supplies! And the prices...amazing. Better than Goodwill I'd say. And they always have a selection of stuff 1/2 off. They also have a section of "canning goods" where you can find canning jars (including mason jars) for between 10-20 CENTS! Boom.

2. Hart City Resale Mall. In Elkhart off of Nappanee/SR19. This place. is. huge. Some stuff is way overpriced, but if you've got the time and patience, you can find some real treasures.

3. Home Again. Downtown Goshen. There are a lot of antique/resale/thrift stores downtown Goshen, and I have yet to visit them all. But this one is really huge and cool. And their prices go down the longer an item sits on the shelf. Sometimes you can find a treasure that's been there forever, and you get a great price.

There are so many more, but I'd suggest you visit these three most of all. Here are some of the treasures I've found:

I got these beauties for about $1.50 a piece. I don't really know what to do with them...but they are pretty.

I love the look of old cameras. I'm a totally fake hipster thought because I know next to nothing about them.

I found this at Better World Books the other day. Someone please say they watched The Office Christmas episode and can laugh at this.

This mustache mug is amazing.

I found this chair for $3 and painted it and reupholstered the seat. Now I may redecorate my whole house to match it. 

This has been at the Hart City Resale Mall for a long time. I want it SO BAD but it's over $100. 

So cute tin toys I didn't need.

I made Stella a "dress up suit case" from mostly thrifted things. We always had a suitcase full of dress up clothes when I was growing up, so I decided every little girl needs one.

So get out there friends, and find some previously loved treasures!

Christmas Fun

I love shopping. Especially for presents. But I really hate when a million other people are doing the same thing. Which is why I'm very thankful to be in the Goshen area this year. I love that there are all the basic stores I want (Starbucks...Target....) plus at least a dozen thrift stores within a 5 mile radius of my house. Lucy and I have been having a great time Christmas shopping.

First comes Jeff's birthday, on the 7th. So Lucy and I had a shopping date to find him some treasures at the thrift store.

I asked her what he'd like, and she kept saying he needed a new bicycle, because his had a flat tire. After I explained to her that 1.) We can't afford a new bicycle, they are expensive and 2.) Daddy never rides his bike anyway; she decided to get him a board game. To play with "the boys" when they come over.

But first, lunch at the side door deli. Yum.

She was very proud that she picked the present herself, and even helped wrap it!

And then Lucy and I had a date one night to look for some more presents for our family.

I showed her this sweater for Uncle Brent. She said "No! Mom! That's weird!!!....I'm sorry I said weird"
 (we are working on "not nice" words)

 After some more thrift store hunting, and picking out wrapping paper at hobby lobby (polka dot...of corse) we, again, went out for some food. Except this time, she really wanted to go to the "Hot Chocolate Store" and sit down and have hot chocolate (She means a coffee house...she's so mine.)
So we went to Panera and she had hot chocolate and a bagel for dinner.

"Mom! Quit taking pictures of me! Give me your phone."

"There, now I took a picture of you." puts phone away

I seriously enjoy the time I spend with her. Now, let's be honest, I suck at discipline so she's naughty. She throws fits, she thinks she gets everything she wants, and it's impossible to walk through a store without saying "LUCY ANNE! Don't touch that!". But she cracks me up. She's kind to people. She says "Thank you!" to the people who hold open the door for us, she holds long strange conversations with strangers who say hello to her, and she will not let you ignore her if she says "Hi". "MOM! WHY'S THAT LADY NOT SAYING HI BACK?! HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIH!"At Panera she kept doing goofy things and I'd say "Lucy! You're crazy!" and she'd giggle and say "I AM funny!" 

Last night, Jeff and I took her out to Mishawaka to do some more Christmas shopping. We went to Old Navy to look for a new dress for her, and for the first time, I picked out a bunch of dresses and took her in the changing room to try them on. Oh. My. Gosh. I wish I had taken a video of it. She loved it. She picked out the dresses she liked, toddled off to the room, and proceeded to twirl and dance in each dress to show her daddy. After we tried them all on I said "Now we have to pick which ones we buy" and she looked at all of them hanging up, and said "How about we buy allllll of these" and pointed at all the dresses. We are in big trouble.

She ended up deciding on a gray dress with pink stars that she picked out all by herself. She will wear it for church Sunday when the little kids sing "Away in a Manger" in front of the church (I am so excited for this.) 

We took her to Krispy Kreme at 9 o'clock at night, because we had some free coupons and we never go out that way. She was so excited to get a snow man donut, and thought it was hilarious that she wore a "Jacob Hat" (poor Jacob...she knows you by your silly paper hat.)

I've come to the conclusion that sometimes being a "bad mom" makes you a really good one. Sometimes forgetting the rules of bedtimes...and healthy eating :)...can make some great memories with your family. But I could be totally wrong. She may grow up to be Honey Boo-Boo. 

I'm a terrible blogger

Let's just take a moment and discuss how I sucked up 30 Days Hath November.

I sucked it up.

I don't know why it was so hard for me to do this year, I wouldn't say I'm any more busy this year. I just failed.

Sorry friends.

Or one person that reads this.

Rachel Jones. What up? :)

So let me make it up to you.

Starting now:

With this awesomely hilarious clip from a Simpson's episode that aired last week. It's possibly my favorite episode ever. Because it's all about hipsters. And I love it.

Anyway, this clip pretty sums up my "Confessions of a Bottle Feeding Mom" title nicely.






This is my new favorite quote, from Marge:

"Parenting should be about a 'style'! Parenting is about bedtimes! And computer passwords! And complicated punishments you make up and never follow through on!"

Yessss....Amen.

More posts to come. About what an awesome/terrible mom I am.

Day 20: Something that means a lot to me

Well, I was going to say:

But that's someONE that means a lot to me.

So I'd say that Prairie Camp means a lot to me.

I wasn't sure it would be the same when I stopped working with my BFF, but I'd have to say, this past summer was awesome. 

 And I'm pumped to see what 2013 brings!

Day 19: Myself, One Year Ago

This was easy, it was just my post from last year. 

I'm so behind! But don't hate.

30 Days Hath November.

Blogging everyday.

Easy Breezy!

HA!

I'm so behind, so here's some catch up for you. So I don't have to link you to EVERY post I missed, here they are:

(Some I posted a while ago, but never linked to facebook/twitter, so you may have not seen them yet)

Day 07: A song for the day.
Day 08: Three inspirational quotes.
Day 09: A close-up of my day.
Day 10: A favourite recipe.
Day 11: Three Years Ago Today
Day 12: The Last Item I purchased
Day 13: Something I'm Proud Of
Day 14: Style Inspiration for the Season
Day 15: Three Blogs I Always Read

Hopefully I'll catch up tomorrow, and maybe even plan ahead a little (GASP!).

Day 18: What I Wore Today

I got this awesome REVERSIBLE vest at a thrift shop for $5. 

(I also didn't wash my hair today)

I'm loving the grey/yellow combo. 

What did YOU wear today? 

Day 17: My Family

Day 16: Someone Who Inspires Me

This post had me stumped.

Because all the people who inspire me, I've already written about. And I wanted to do something new! I had to promise myself that I would only write a sappy (slightly creepy) post about Carrie every OTHER year. Ya know...to cut back on the creepy factor.

So I thought about my other options:

My Mom. Did it.
Kathy Ryman. Did it.

......

I was this close to writing about Joe Baughman. Because, in his own, slightly cruel way, he does inspire me. But...well...that'd be weird right?


So....

I dug really deep...

And thought about who really blesses my life, who I find myself wanting to be like.

And....

Well.....


I picked.....

Stella.

This kid has made me laugh til I cried since she was old enough to squeeze out her "old man" laugh. She's surly not perfect, I saw her "terrible two's". But, as her mother always says, her highs are high and her lows are low. She is easy going (as long as she has her blankie close), and kind, and hilarious. 

Me to Lucy: "Come here Peanut"

Stella: "Amber, why you call her Peanut?"

Me: "Because she's little like a peanut."

Stella. ".....My mom calls me hoofer butt." 

When a new baby came to her home, there wasn't a jealous bone in her body. She loves helping with baby "Navel". She is the kind of kid who squeals with delight when you chase her, or let her run you over with her Barbie Jeep. 

She is my hero. I want to be her. 

Day 15: Three Blogs I Always Read

I would like to say I always read Carrie's blog, but I don't think she's posted since last November*, so...I'll have to pick some other ones:


Rage Against the Minivan

If the name doesn't grab you, the amazingly cute kids will. This is a wonderful blog full of honesty, diversity, and poop. Oh, and this hilarious video, which will be officially the only slightly political thing I posted about the election.


ABBYBLUJAY

Confession: I don't know this women. I found her blog through a mutual friend. But I want to know her. She writes like we're talking over coffee, and always makes me laugh. I love her SLW (single lady wednesday) series because it reminds me so much of my SAHM life (Stay At Home Mom). No Pants and sleeping on piles of laundry? Everyday.

Brandflakes For Breakfast

This is a sometimes hilarious blog full of the crazy and creative. It's a fun one to add to your list, just to see if anyones making 3D Photobooths that make little creepy figurines of yourself, or taking pictures of hipsters walking down the street and judging their style.


I do love reading blogs, it's part of my morning routine. Make coffee, get some breakfast, read my blogs. Anyone got any good ones to share? I'm always up for adding new ones!


*edit: she last posted in June...which isn't as bad..but still...come on Carrie!! 

Day 14: Style Inspirations for the Season

You're Welcome.

Day 13: Something I'm Proud Of

Can it be someone?
Can it be someone(s)?

Because I'm real proud of these two.

Uncle Brent is doing big things with his life. He's the kind of person I can see being impactful anywhere he goes. I know he is doing great things where he is, but I know that it's not because of where he is, or who he works with, it's because of who he is. (And who HE is, if ya know what I mean)

And Lucy? Well, even in her dark moments, I'm proud of her. I'm proud that she can say her ABC's and count to 12, and count to 5 in Spanish. I'm proud that she plays a full drumset like a pro, that she makes up her own songs and stories, and that she laughs all the time at anything. Including me, screeching at her to sit on the naughty spot.

Day 12: The Last Item I Purchased.

I'm on a diet.


Side Note: I got White Chocolate Peppermint Kettle Corn and it was the most delicious thing ever. I will be going back for the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt one. Yummers.

Day 11: Three Years Ago Today

November 11th, 2009

Lucy was about 3 months old.

She was floppy, happy, very cute, and totally took over my whole life.

Except when things like this happened: