Sharing the joy of potty training

I’d poop in the potty for these!

Before getting married and having children of my own, I lived in the garage of my brother and his family. When their third child was potty training there was a big celebration every time the boy used the potty. In addition to cheers and clapping, there were jelly beans! The good kind–Jelly Bellies that came in a huge tub from Costco. Not only did the boy doing the job get a bean, but his older sisters did, too. I suppose that was a good motivation for them to encourage their little brother to keep up the good work.

But the best part was, even though I wasn’t even in the house

Ain’t that the truth?

This mom has it easy.

Tonight my three-year-old son said to me, “Momma, you’re nice. Thank you for wiping my butt. Yeah, because I can’t reach my butt, and you help me. You’re so

All in a day’s work

In the morning I discovered my 22-month-old had unrolled all the toilet paper into the toilet, thus forcing me to reach in and pull the bulk of it out by hand so as not to clog the drain when flushed.

At nap time, I heard her calling from her room. She had stripped down to the skin. Poop was on her sheets, body, crib, blankets, and wall. All she had to say for herself was,

How to tell if you’re a mom, Part 1

The two most hateful, fearful, and odious words in the English language are: potty training.

Even though you’re not on TV or in a movie, you sometimes hear yourself saying, “It’s quiet….Tooooo quiet.”

“Look what I can do!”

My son was so proud of himself when he learned how to potty train that one day, when he needed to go, while in the middle of a busy parking lot,

Best potty training motivator ever

Most parents offer their children a piece of candy or a small gift when potty training. Not me. I said, “What do you want, kid? A Cadillac? A trip to Hawaii? I’ll give you anything if you use the potty. Just name it.” Finally we settled on

If only there was a super hero whose super power was using the potty!

My three-year-old son is obsessed with Spiderman.  His favorite villain to battle while donning his costume is the Green Goblin. He pretends to be dodging pumpkin bombs, which is the weapon most commonly used by the Green Goblin.

A few days after Halloween, he wet his pants. I took them off and was cleaning up the floor when he yelled from the dining room,

When nature calls….

When we were trying to potty train our third, he was having a hard time with number two on the potty. He would actually hold it in until he was constipated, unless I would put a diaper on him and let him do his thing.

We weren’t sure what we were going to do about this until one summer day he comes in the house all proud and tells me he just pooped.

Children of all ages deserve praise.

Years ago, I was at the laundromat with my newly potty trained grandson. At one point he informed me that he needed to go to the bathroom. I took him, helped with his clothes, etc. and then decided I needed to go, too.

When I was finished, he put his hand on my shoulder and said,

A lovely parting gift?

Whenever a guest comes to our house, our four-year-old always wants to show that person something. Usually, it’s “Come see my room!” or “Come look at the tree painted on the wall.”