New Potty Training Strategy

Scrappy has developed a slight fear of his potty chair.  He tells me there is a monster in it.  I'm not sure where he got this idea from.  For a while he loved his new potty chair that Daddy picked out because it is a Cars potty chair.  It has a little lever on the left hand side.  When you push the lever down, it makes a race car sound.  He loved trying to go on it just for the excuse of playing with the handle and making the noise.  Then suddenly one day he told me he was "scared of the potty."  I haven't been able to get him to sit on it since.

Today while my hubby was at work (yes, he's still working Saturdays) I was trying to figure out what we could do to get him to go.  Offering treats doesn't work.  I'm already giving him time to play the Wii as a reward for doing his treatments so he isn't fighting on that anymore (and it keeps him busy while I'm cooking if he's playing Monster Jams.  Or I'll let him do the Wii Fit and exercise his lungs more!  But I need to help him more with that one...)  I know he loves monster trucks, and is always asking for more.  He's been asking for Maximum Destruction lately.  (I had looked and looked and not been able to find it.)

Our kids are used to having a reward system.  They have an old glass wine jug that they put change into as they earn it for helping around the house.  In the late summer when we go to the county fair, the kids get to use their money saved up in the jar as their money to use to play games and go on rides.  Since it's their money to share, it wouldn't be fair to give him change to put into that jar. 

Instead, I took fifty cents out of their fair money jar - in pennies.  I recently emptied a small coffee can, so I cut a slit in the lid, and put the pennies in a baggie on top of the coffee can.  Then I ran to WalMart to look at monster trucks (and to just get out of the house by myself - I love my kids, but sometimes Mama needs a break too!!) and specifically search for Max D.  It took some looking, and cost a little more than I planned on, but I did find a package that had both Max D and Batman, which he doesn't have yet either.  (Yes, I've been trying to save money, but on the other hand I figured these 2 trucks cost less than 2 packages of pull ups.  If they work to get him potty trained, then they'll pay for themselves!)

The way the reward is (planned) going to work is, every time he tries to go potty on his potty chair, he gets to put one penny in the coffee can.  When all 50 are in there, he gets 1 of the new monster trucks.  Then we start over, but he only gets a penny when he actually goes on the potty chair.  When all 50 are in can, he gets the other truck (and should hopefully be potty trained by then!!)  I also discussed with my husband that we need to be more adamant about underpants.  The only time Scrappy will be allowed to wear a pull up will be nap time, bed time, and when we're traveling/driving.  We can get him to wear underpants, but he refuses to wear the plastic pants that go over them :/  And we keep reminding him that Brobee/Mater/(insert other character from Yo Gabba Gabba or Cars 2) doesn't like it when he goes potty/poopy on them.

Wish us luck!!  I'm always open to more suggestions!!!

Revamping and Redoing

I've been a SAHM mom for one year and 5 months, and I still have no idea what I'm doing.  No one tells you how hard it really is to be home with your kids.  Or if they do tell you, very seldom do you believe them.  I mean really, how hard can it be???

Well, believe me, it's a lot harder than it looks!!  Between the running and doctor's appointments and cleaning and laundry, it seems like nothing is EVER done!!  Factor in a child with a medical condition, and that amplifies it.

I must admit that now that school has started for my oldest, some of the chaos and craziness has died down.  The end of summer means no more baseball until next summer.  But it brings with it a whole new array of appointments.  Now it's back to Girl Scouts, church and Sunday school, and homework.  The scheduling for all the running had to be peared down so that I can make it home in time to pick Beau up from school.  Every now and then, I do have to find someone else to pick her up or drop her off, but most often it's just me.

I tried making a schedule to follow for basics during the day.  Turns out I can't keep to a schedule.  Either can the little man.  He doesn't nap when I schedule him to.  He doesn't play quietly during his 'scheduled' time either.  I guess with a 3 year old, trying to maintain a set schedule is just not in the cards.  Yeah, I have my list of "to-do"s, but I think that's going to be the best I can do.

Today's list of to-dos??

Scrappy is working a little harder on potty training right now, so he's ACTUALLY wearing underpants - which is really big for him.  So obviously, I have to have some laundry going so I can wash up his accidents.  I'm almost out of laundry soap so I'm going to try making some homemade from a recipe I got from a friend.  I'm about 2 meals behind on dishes, so I have those to do.  Clothes to put away.  Vacuum.  Cooked down my chicken yesterday, so today I have to sort it all out and strain it and clean the meat and hopefully can it.  I'm really hoping the weather doesn't get as hot as predicted.  (Supposed to be 90 today, but I think I'd prefer the 70's.)  And, at some point, I need to get some reading done - I have a paper due Wednesday for school....