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!

Faking It Until I Believe It

My last two sort of whiny and complaining posts are proof that I need to do something to turn my frown upside down. I'm half heartedly committing myself to fake it until I believe it. What this means is that I'm going to smile and be as nice as I can to everyone, while moving forward toward Christmas acting like I'm really jolly about it. Pretty soon I will forget I'm acting and truly believe it. 

This morning I started my day off at Bethany's basketball game. It was my turn to work the concession stand, where I had a great view of Bethany scoring for the first time!! Working at the game was actually kind of fun. I like going to Bethany's games, so I'm going to resolve to have a better attitude about squeezing six games in next week amidst our holiday chaos.

After the game the kids went to my in-law's for the afternoon and I went Christmas shopping with my mom. That was fun and we had a very productive afternoon. The crowds of people didn't irritate me too badly and I think I might actually be starting to feel a tiny bit more festive (this is not the faking it part).

The best part of the day is that I don't think I changed one diaper all day long. I'm afraid to say it out loud, but I think my stubborn little potty trainer is finally starting to be seriously interested in using the potty. In fact she is up right now because she said she needed to use the potty - and she did!

Tomorrow the kids and I are going to be Christmas cookie baking fools. I have a killer headache and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done, but I know tomorrow is going to be a great day, because any day full of yummy cookies just has to be fabulous.

Potty Training Help From the Looster Booster

I've potty trained three kids. It was no fun but I got through it more or less intact. One might think potty training a fourth kid would be no biggie. Hmmm. Just one more example of how very different each kid is. Mathilda is stubborn. She likes to be the baby. She likes to act like a baby. She makes me want to scream on a daily basis. And definitely not just for potty training reasons.

We have a little potty. We also have an insert for the big toilet. We have books and movies about the potty. We have older kids who are happy to encourage her and demonstrate how to use the potty. Goodness knows she never leaves me alone while I'm in the bathroom. So she's seen plenty. She knows what to do. She tells me pretty much every time she's gone potty in her diaper. Sometimes she tells me before she goes, and then holds it indefinitely as I rush to get her on a potty in time. She won't be bought with bribery and promises of treats and goodies. She has no problem running around the house naked and relieving herself wherever she happens to be at that moment. She's nonchalant about going potty in big girl panties. Wet squishy panties? Eh, whatevs.

One problem was that she was unable to get up and down from the toilet on her own. Well, without putting herself in perilous danger every time she tried. That's where the Looster Booster came in. The Looster Booster is a kind of step stool that goes around the toilet to help little ones get up and down securely. It's plenty big enough and sturdy enough, and it doesn't slide around the floor. There's a raised pattern all along the top of it too, which helps little feet not slip. Some kids don't like their feet to be dangling several inches from the floor. With the Looster Booster they can rest their feet and feel safe.

Mathilda likes to be able to climb up on the toilet by herself, and get down with no help. But unfortunately she still doesn't like to actually use the toilet. Sigh.

I think the Looster Booster is a great product. Once Mathilda is ready to get down to the serious business of potty training, I know it will be a big help. Plus I will feel better knowing that she has a safe way to get up and down (my friend's daughter broke her little leg falling off the toilet).

I do have to note, the Looster Booster is pretty big. We have a small bathroom, and I find it a little awkward to use the toilet with it in place. So we do end up shuffling it around sometimes. However, I'm happy to accept the size because I know it will be a temporary fixture in our bathroom, and it will help my daughter to feel more secure and to be safer while learning to use the potty.

Have you seen or used the Looster Booster? What other tools do you have to aid in the potty training process? I want to know what tips and tricks have worked for you, because I am really terribly sick of buying diapers!


Disclosure: I received a complimentary Looster Booster for review purposes. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.