1 down.....4 to go....

Looking so big..........

Yet...still so small.....

Prospective is everything right now....I'm just keeping it prospective. One day down and 4 more to go, and we made it through today without any tears. Which is big for the girls in this family. Well, I really should correct myself and say their were no tears of sadness for the missing member that had to leave on a business trip today. There were however tears for other various reasons. All common occurrences among 4 year olds and 1 year olds. For instance tears when a certain someone didn't want to wear the shirt I picked out for him. Tears when he didn't want to take a nap. Tears when another member of the family wet her pants. Which at the time I just picked her up and hauled her off to the bathroom. Thinking she needed a swat...but extending grace, because I just was not in the mood to go through all the steps. However after I got the wet stuff off....Suzy looked at me and said, "I yi yi yi yi...." (something Donovan says to her when she has an accident) and then swatted her own leg. And then repeated the phrase and swatting of herself again.

God sure has a sense of humor. God sure knows how to give me the "pick-me- up" I needed at just the right time.

4th times a charm......

Look at me in my new big girl pants. I am proud.

If you been reading me for a while you will remember that Suzy had ideas of potty training herself back here. I however was too lazy to go with it. Things like surgery, Christmas, and a vacation were keeping me from working with this little girl. But this past week I felt a sudden burst of renewed patience, after coming back from my trip and decided to see what she would do. I've never trained any of my other 3 kids this young. So I prepared myself mentally that this was just for fun. That was Wednesday.





Here it is Sunday and she has surpassed any of my expectations. The first day she went 13 times in the potty!!Thursday, Friday and Saturday she wore panties all day. She was going at least 10 times a day. She got it! She understood. This is not to say we have had meltdowns, we have. We have also cleaned guano out of panties. 3 days in a row we have cleaned them out. But tonight she got the guano in the potty. She is getting it. The sheer thought of not buying diapers for the first time in 7 1/2 years makes me down right giddy.

One thing that worked for the others was a small treat (ie: fruit loop or fruit snack) when they went potty and to put a sticker on a chart. (thanks Aunt Melissa for all the stickers) This was Suzy's potty chart from the first day on the job. I am also a firm believer in using the thick cloth panties while at home. This is more laundry...but the learning curve is huge when they can actually feel themselves wet, unlike a pull up. I do however use pull-up's when going out anywhere. Man, I'm going nuts just thinking of all the money we are going to save by not buying diapers anymore.

Chicago

Several weeks ago we had planned a day trip to Chicago, however we had to postpone the trip due to my surgery. Finally the day came and we packed them all up and headed out.

Our first stop was The Rainforest Cafe. Isabella's classroom at school has a rainforest theme, and her class is decorated like a rainforest, and they have been learning different facts about them. So when Isabella's teacher found out we were going to the Cafe, she gave us 4 free coupons for FREE kids meals! I LIKE FREE!







As you walk in there are fish aquariums everywhere. They are full of exotic fish and neat shells. The kids had fun looking at these uniquely shaped aquariums.

Here is one of the aquariums that is a huge see through tunnel overhead. Suzy was amazed! There were so many neat things there to see. Monkeys hanging from the ceiling, gorillas, and different animals that would come to life every 20 minutes or so. There was also a reactment of thunderstorms every once in a while. Ike

Here is the crew....trying to figure out what to choose to eat. There was a huge assortment of different foods. Jack choose mini hot dogs and fries, William choose mac and cheese with garlic bread, and Isabella had char broiled hamburgers with applesauce. When eating out we usually get one meal and all of the kids split the food. But since we had 4 free coupons they each had their own. Again, I LIKE FREE!

Suzanna had fun eating popcorn shrimp for the first time, she was eating off of her plate like a puppy and then laughing so hard about it. Of course we all laughed too. Isabella went over to show her how to eat like a lady with a fork. It's so fun to see these two interact and enjoy being sisters.

After stuffing ourselves we went to Ikea. There were a couple of last minute gifts we wanted to pick up & wanted to spend a little time day dreaming at all the cool stuff.

We let the kids play a little while Donovan quickly purchased an easel for Isabella's Christmas present and then went to hide it in the back of the van. What a deal! You can see it here. Only $19.99. It has a dry erase board on one side and chalkboard on the other.

While waiting for Donovan who was making the secret purchase....the kids put on a puppet show.

Hard to believe...but we forgot the stroller again...just like on our last trip we took! But Suzy adjusted to our neglect and finally fell asleep in the cart laying on a blanket that I would've loved to keep for our bedroom. But at $40....I decided we probably ought to save that for more important things like.....

ICECREAM! The kids did pretty well with being carted all over the store for 2 hours. They managed to keep the whining and fighting to a minimum. I'm not sure what we were thinking....(well we were not thinking- actually) but our shopping extravaganza was right during the usual nap time for the 2 youngest. We took our time in the morning getting ready, and decided right from the beginning of the day to relax and enjoy the day. So that put our shopping at a hard time. But despite our poor planning the kids did well. So we had a treat of ice cream.

And then on the way home we stopped for a bite to eat. We were all done and ready to head back for the last leg of the 3 hour drive. And Jack has to go to the bathroom. I was meanwhile waiting with the girls. And waiting....and waiting. After 15 minutes I was wondering if I had missed Donovan and he had pulled the van up to the door. SO I called him. He answered the cell phone, "Yep, still in the bathroom" So the girls and I waited in the L O N G line at Gloria Jeans for an iced mocha and a cream cheese danish. Funny the man in line behind me commented on the long line and then added, "I hope you are getting one of those mixed iced drinks that take a long time to make"

Why, yes, sir I am.

And if you get the chance you really should try the Sleigh ride iced mocha....it really is worth the $5! And finally after 25 long minutes in the public restroom at the truck stop- Jack came out of the bathroom crying because he couldn't go poop because it hurt. WOW! Great.

And can I add that 15 minutes down the road, William had to go potty? That is after he went 2 times at the rest stop. Luckily we had a pop bottle in the car he could use.

potty pants

Can you see the brown footprints in the picture above?

O.K. well we are not really "training" Suzanna, but a couple of times a day I will put her on her little potty and she goes. Usually guano (Donovan's word). I see that look in her eye and her position, and well it's like.....Hmmmm do I want to let her go in her diaper and later scrape that off her bottom or just sit her on the potty? So I've been sitting her on the potty and she will do it. I probably should go full speed ahead with the potty training since she shows an interest. But the thought of being in a public place (for instance Wal-mart) and needed to find a potty within 5 seconds doesn't appeal to me right now. Call me lazy I know. And Christmas get togethers....I mean I had kids so I can be at the front of the food line, and I'm afraid if I'm in the bathroom with potty pants I'm going to lose out on all the good stuff. And the fact that I am having surgery next week, kinda puts the damper on the subject too. On with the real story....SO last night I sat her on the potty, because mothers intuition kicked in and I thought she had to go. So I sat her on and she didn't. Strange, but o.k. So I told Suzy to go find her daddy and get a diaper. Usually she will go to him and he diapers her. Well I lost track of her, didn't follow through and Donovan and I were talking in the kitchen. In walks Suzy with no diaper, but a trail of guano following behind. It also is on her hands, arms and legs. Donovan is panicked (I should've been but was too busy laughing.) We follow the brown trail and find that she had went into the bathroom (hence the brown footprints) sat on the potty and did a number in the potty. A small victory for the little one year old. She knew she had to go and went to the potty. Too bad she also went on the carpet in 4 different places. Seriously it was all over. Of course I couldn't get a very good picture, because panic dad was cleaning her up so fast. Given the chance I was home by myself I would not have been taking pictures but cleaning up. Just so you know. But come on I'm still kinda sick, not too sick to take pictures..just too sick to clean up guano.