Winning

Today was a milestone kind of day for Mattie. Last night all of my babies stayed overnight at Chris's mom's, so I'm not sure how Mattie's morning went. But this is big news: from 11:00 a.m. on (when we arrived to pick up the kids), Mattie stayed D-R-Y. She has used the potty all day long!

Let me repeat that for emphasis: My daughter, Mathilda Reese, used the potty and stayed dry for the entire day!

She used the potty at Meema's house before we left. She stayed dry in the car as our 45 minute drive to visit family turned into a two-hour drive. (Let's just say that accidentally getting on the bridge to Canada is a much bigger ordeal than one might expect.) She used the potty at my dad's house, with no accidents. She stayed dry on the 45 minute drive home. She stayed dry as she slept on the couch for hours when we got home, and used the potty when she woke up.

Oh my goodness! I think this is it! My diaper-less future is so close I can taste it! I knew this day would come, but somehow it seemed like it never would. Something clicked in Mattie within the last couple of weeks, and she just suddenly decided that she wanted to use the potty. Today was such a big deal because, number one, it was her first day being accident-free, and number two, it was her first time using a real toilet (not her little potty seat) at someone else's house.

This has been quite a busy and eventful Christmas break. Basketball games, sick kids, Christmas preparations and visits, family photos (minus the parents), and potty training! I'm getting ready to book our January weekend getaway. And we still have lots more to look forward to in the next week.

I know for a lot of people in my life, 2011 has been a rough year. I have to say, it's ending pretty well for me. I've been on this crazy winning streak for one thing. Within the course of about 10 days, I won:

1. A coupon for a free bottle of cranberry juice.
2. A coupon for a free package of Louis Rich frozen foods.
3. $50 cash (Paypal actually, same diff)
4. A custom made t-shirt for a little girl
5. A $100 Sears gift card
6. A $50 Land's End gift card

Is that crazy nutty or what?! But there's more! Thanks to my mom, my whole family has brand new snow boots (although it has yet to snow more than a light dusting), and when our order arrived via UPS, there was an extra pair of boots in our shipment. (Don't worry, I'll be notifying the company). My family has been subject to great generosity, for which I'm so grateful. But my biggest jackpot of all is Mattie's potty training success!

No matter what, I'm ready to bid a fond farewell to 2011 and welcome the new year!