Peace in the Potty

One thing I long for in my house is peace...peace and being able to go potty by myself...even better, not having to take someone potty every 25 minutes. What is that...three things? I don't ask for much do I? Bean and I were sitting on the porch swing, soaking up the last rays of sun on a lovely fall day before a weekend of predicted rain. When we were joined by a Boy doing the potty dance. "Mommy, I need you to go potty with me!" followed by frantic dancing. "No, buddy, you can go pee by yourself. Go by yourself and I'll give you a piece of candy." He disappears for a few minutes only to return with the dancing much more frantically. "Mommy I NEED YOU!!" So much for a few minutes of peace and quiet on a nice fall evening... I followed him half way up the stairs. Then the Boy turns and says "Mommy, I don't need you any more. I can pee by myself." Biting my tongue and thinking to myself "I know you can go potty by yourself. I asked you to already." So I sat down on the steps fearing that the Boy had waited too long to make it safely to the potty. Moments later he reappears with his pants pulled up (Thank Heavens! usually they're off and waving in the wind). I praise him for going by himself and help him choose a candy.



In the time it has taken me to type the first paragraph, Bean has come to me demanding potty. She won't come inside though. Guess she doesn't have to go that badly. Bean has just completed potty training and remains dry at night. The most unpleasantness I have dealt with concerning her "needs" is the occasional "oops, I started to have an accident, but we made it to the potty any way" The two best things about Bean being potty trained are 1. For the first time in 6 yes 6 years I have no one in diapers(well for 6 months any way)...I don't have to worry about having diapers or even pull-ups in my purse, or a big bulky diaper bag when we go any where. and 2. Bean potty trained herself. It was a much longer process than the other children, but much less labor/mom intensive. She came to me in January with a pair of the boys undies and demanded "Unnies on!!" "No Bean, you don't need to wear undies. You wear diapers. You're a little girl." She wouldn't take "No" for an answer. She got to wear them 5 minutes before having an accident. The next day lead to a trip to the local "Stuff-Mart" To purchase pull ups. I didn't do much more for her other than change her when wet and messy like usual, but by March when I found some motivation, she was mostly wet trained and would tell me immediately after having an accident. Unfortunately, once I started to show some more involvement and guidance, we had a 2 month relapse. Once summer came though, we were both ready for another try. We quickly got back to where we were with the pee training, and #2 quickly followed. By the time school rolled around, we went into training undies and have been virtually accident free since then. Yippee!! Bean however needs an assisted trip to the potty every hour or so. It seems my day is filled with trips up and down the steps. But I would rather up and down the steps and being done with potty training.



Peace however...that is something I struggle to attain. I know that my Heavenly Father is the source of peace, and by spending daily time with Him, prayer, and practicing His presence, I can attain the peace I so greatly desire. It seems to take so very much practice and I feel I am so much out of practice. That would be why God is on my "To Do" List. In my goal of attaining the daily habit of time with God, but even greatness must start somewhere. Most days though...the peace I most desire is 5 minutes on the potty without someone screaming bloody murder, barging in on me, or urging me to hurry I gotta go. ;-)

Chaos

I love chaos...I thrive on chaos...sometimes chaos makes me crazy. After all I am the mother of 4 children born in less than 5 years. My house has been even crazier for the last few weeks. I've started babysitting for one of Bear's classmates and her sister, who will be the Boy's classmate when preschool starts this fall. I love having all the kids in the house. It's great! I think the best apart is that my children are entertained by their friends being there with them, so I've been able to keep things more cleaned up around the house. My kids are also becoming more responsible because I'm remembering to make it a priority to have them pick up before Daddy gets home from summer school. The kids have been doing quite well at it. I do usually reward them with something...an icee, playing in the creek, or getting out the play-dough. Play-dough with 6 kids isn't easy. Especially when Bean is a play-dough eater.

In the chaos of everyday, the other day, I wanted to take some pics of the kids playing in the creek to share. Instead of taking my camera back into the house when I was done, I stuck it in the garage. Big mistake! DH had warned me the roof was leaking like a sieve. Of course I forgot my camera when it was time to bring in the kids and do baths. Fast forward to yesterday...Dh was cleaning out the garage and lo and behold found my camera...in 6 inches of water. Oops! So, I took out my batteries, SD card, and let it dry out. Figuring that my first check from babysitting was going to replace my camera. Last night, we put fresh batteries in and the camera worked. Not 10 minutes after I'd decided what camera i was going to use as my replacement. I'd planned on ordering it after the kids went to bed. Thank you Jesus, that it worked.

Added to all this, I'm in my 4th round of potty training. Bean has been very motivated but my motivation is lacking. She's my baby. I know it'll be great to have her out of pull ups and all but then I lose the last shreds of babyhood that she has. She talks like a big girl, feeds herself, wipes herself after using the potty, tries to brush her own teeth and does her best to dress herself. When she talks, she says the most grown up things. I can't believe how big my little girl is getting.

Here are the pics from their fun in the creek that almost cost the camera.

The Boy

Mr. Man

Bug, Bear and the Boy

Daddy and Bean