"Yeah!" With Dora and Boots

Here's a cute way to cheer on your little one(s) when they have potty success: Play this clip of Dora and Boots saying "Yeah!" as they raise their arms. Don't be surprised if your kids follow along. (It will likely end in tickling.)

Dora's Hand Washing Chart

Do you think the person who invented stickers knows they're also saving the world?

Seriously, we use stickers for practically everything -- making birthday cards, potty training, getting our kids to be happy in the grocery store... Everything.

And now, I'm employing stickers for hand washing. And you can, too!

Every time my son or daughter washes their hands, they'll get a sticker on their chart. 

More stickers mean clean hands. Clean hands mean fewer germs. Fewer germs mean healthier kids.  Healthier kids mean healthier schools. Healthier schools mean a healthier world. 

And voila! Stickers are saving the world! Get your own Dora Hand Washing Chart here.

The Potty Returns

The potty has made a triumphant return at our house.

Having finally gotten our three-year-old out of diapers we are now getting ready to train our two-year-old daughter. The potty had barely returned to its shelf in the storage unit before we hauled it back out to its spot on the bathroom floor.

I should admit up front that we are off to a slow start with our daughter. She's pretty down on all things potty - but that's not what I'm here to complain about.

My problem is that her brother has rediscovered HIS love of all things potty.

I was walking by the bathroom the other day when I realized that the potty had been in use!

I experienced a brief moment of elation. I thought maybe that my daughter had experienced a potty-based revelation during which she'd mastered taking off her pants and Pampers® Easy Ups and using the potty all by herself!

Yeah, that wasn't what happened.

Instead my three-year-old, delighted to see his old friend "the potty", had decided to use it for old time's sake. I explained to him that the potty wasn't for him anymore. It was his sister’s turn.

He had graduated to the toilet and on the toilet he should stay!

The message didn't really take root.

The next day the potty has been used again. Its very presence in the bathroom seemed to call to my son like a siren. I sat him down and instructed him again NOT TO USE THE POTTY.

He had a few objections,

"But I'll only use it right before bath time!"

"Mom, I'll just use it a little bit!"

"Maybe I could just use it in the morning?"

Who knew the potty held such a beloved place in my son's heart?

I'm telling you, folks. When it comes to potty training bumps in the road - this one I didn't see coming.

All I can hope for now is that some of you can learn from my experience. If you have to potty train closely trained siblings you may need to deal with your trained child's renewed interest in the potty as you start to work with your next trainee.

My suggestion? Set clear boundaries and try to find some room for compromise.

As we go through the house each night saying goodnight to toys and family members I allow my three-year-old one additional stop - during which he says good night to the potty.

It's an arrangement I can live with.

Smell the Flowers

I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes I actually forget to breathe. 

It’s not like I’m not breathing at all, but whatever breathing I’m doing is the shallow, barely surviving kind. 

This usually happens when I’m with both kids by myself at a playground or crowded event, or trying to get everyone ready in the morning, or when I have pasta boiling over on the stove at the same time that somebody has an accident on the floor…so, ok, a lot of the time.

The best way for me to remember to breathe is to remind my kids to do it.  I believe my son has inherited my tendency to get overwhelmed in the chaos and forget to breathe.  If he’s building a tall tower of blocks and his little sister comes near it, I can almost see his veins popping out of his head. I'm not sure if any air is coming in or going out of those lungs. And when it does come out, it is usually in the form of "DON'T TOUCH MY TOWER!"

A friend of mine suggested saying to him, “Smell the flowers.”  It’s more specific and kid-friendly than “just breathe.” It seems to work really well -- for him, and for me.

Long Days, Short Years

When I first became a mom, I remember other parents saying, “the days are long, but the years are short.”

This is the truest thing that I’ve ever heard about parenting.

Every year that goes by seems faster. And the days I’m at home often seem to go on forever.  

It’s the paradox between wanting our kids to hurry up and get out of the tough phases, and wanting them to remain our cute babies forever.

My little one put on her Pampers® Easy Ups today and said “big girl.”

I must have said that when I first put them on her. But I didn’t really mean it!

And you can’t go backwards. I can’t start calling her a baby again. It would be confusing, right?

But sometimes I wish we could just stop the growth for a little while.

I guess this is the toughest part of parenthood. I’ll see pictures or videos of my kids from last month and think, “how could they have grown so much since then? I know I’m going to watch this when they’re graduating from high school and cry.” (And then I actually cry a little.)

Of course, then there are the days when your kid eats too many cookies and starts hitting you and won’t go to bed. Then you can’t wait to ship them off to college. (I sometimes want to cry during those times, too.)

Ah, parenting. Nothing makes you more aware of the passage of time than having kids. 

The Terrible Threes

The terrible twos are terrible all right.

There's the constant screaming of, "NO!", the occasional bouts of biting, and, of course, the always beloved tantrum-throwing.

But at least "THE TWOS" have the decency to give you some warning.

The horribleness of "THE TERRIBLE TWOS" is  conveyed by parenting tomes and fellow Mom bloggers alike. Such universal acknowledgement of all the ills the twos contain is comforting, and it also helps you kinda prepare yourself. get ready.

I mean, by the time you have a two-year-old, if you're not prepared to devote a full year of your existence to battles with your offspring over an unending range of senseless minutiae? You've really got no one to blame but yourself.

Then finally your child turns three, and you justifiably believe that your time of turmoil has come to an end. Patiently, you wait for the long-promised door to good behavior to open. Having survived 365 days of "the twos" you are poised to welcome the freedom from strife you have been told is, at last, your due.

Until that day when you find yourself asking your three-year-old to put on his shoes...

...and rather than complying with this seemingly innocuous request, your child instead chooses to throw both said shoes directly towards your skull while screaming at the top of his lungs,

"I DON'T LIKE IT THOSE SHOES!!!!!!!"

You are confused.

What's going on here? By any calendric standards the terrible twos are, in fact, OVER. And yet, where is the calm and delightful three-year-old you've been promised?

You tell yourself that perhaps this incident was some sort of anomaly. Maybe your kiddo had a bad night's sleep? Or perhaps he ingested a bum chicken nugget and it is affecting his judgment?

You try to remain calm.

Several days later, you invite your darling three-year-old into a nice warm bath before bed, as you have done every single night of his life since birth. But instead of thanking you at some length for your thoughtfulness, your child instead chooses to take several nude laps around the house while shrieking at ear-piercing volume,

"I WON'T GO TO THE BATHTUB!!!!!! I WON'T!"

Something is definitely amiss here.

And so you seek out fellow mothers to demand some answers.

"What is going on?" you ask, "The terrible twos are supposed to be over! These are supposed to be the halcyon days of the terrific threes, are they not?"

This is when you finally learn the truth - that three is NOT the end of the terrible twos, as you had been led to believe.

You attempt to process this information. Unfortunately, you cannot, as you are far too busy fending off nuclear-level meltdowns from your toddler on subjects including but not limited to:

- I WANT TO SLEEP WITH THE POTTY IN THE BED!

- I DON'T WANT THE CAR TO BE RED ANYMORE! I WANT IT TO BE GREEN!

- I'M SCARED OF THE COUCH!

In your confusion you make the classic mistake of attempting to reason with your three-year-old. You lovingly discuss precisely why the couch is not scary. You carefully detail the downsides of having one's poop receptacle in the sleeping area. You calmly explain that one cannot change a vehicle's color using only one's mind.

In response your child strikes you about the face and neck before diving to the floor, kicking wildly, and smashing his fists upon the ground. And you come to accept that the twos were just the beginning. But now, the threes have arrived.

People. let me let you in on a terrible secret that no one has told you:

'The terrible threes' are real. In fact, they are the unannounced rageful sequel to 'the terrible twos'.

PREPARE THYSELVES!

Three Kids: Three Uses for Pampers® Easy Ups (Youngest Child)

Yup, I've got three kids currently using Pampers® Easy Ups. You heard me -- THREE.

From the baby: "I'm just getting started using mine!"