Potty Training - It's for the Birds!

Potty training.  I loathe it.  I have absolutely NO patience for anything potty related.  I do not can not help a child to the potty 50 million times a day, clean up 25 mishaps, wash all the laundry such occurrences create and maintain a sensible level of patience and mental stability.  Now that that is clear we'll move on...
I have 4 children.  Two of them are trained.  One of them should be.  And the other might could start trying if I had the patience for it.  Here are my kids potty stories:
M - M is my oldest child.  She began asking to potty when she was 14 months old.  Yes, asking.  Saying she was very verbal is an understatement.  She began talking when she was 4 months old and she has never stopped (she is almost 13 now.)  At 14 months, she knew what she was doing and had all the language needed to verbally communicate what she was doing.  I would let her go when she wanted, but at 14 months I still had her in diapers.  Between the ages of 14 months and 2 1/2 she would have spurts of pottying.  She would wear panties and have no accidents for a week to two weeks at a time, and then revert to diapers when she would have an accident and spend 20 minutes crying and condemning herself even though I was reassuring her and telling her it was okay.  Sometimes she would refuse to potty at home, but would ask to visit EVERY potty outside of our home - eventually I cut her off.  I mean, I had no patience for maneuvering every public potty when she wouldn't even potty at home.  She stayed dry at night, but refused to potty in the morning saving it for her diaper.  A couple months before she turned 3, I no longer had patience for her morning antic.  I literally begged her to go to the potty - you know you just can not MAKE a child go - and she went in her diaper.  So, I changed her diaper and put panties on her.  I told her NO MORE DIAPERS - EVER!  And she cried sobbed for 10 minutes.  She has been pottying ever since.
A - A is my second daughter.  I bought a potty for A when she was roughly 18 months old.  She was a tad curious, but only because she thought it was a neat looking contraption.  She had no desire to actually use it for it's intended purpose.  Fast forward until she was nearly 3.  At this point I decided she had to potty train because age 3 was going to be my cut off for using diapers - after all, big sister had her diapers taken away before turning 3 right?  Let's just say that A tried, bless her heart.  She wore disposable pull-ups for a very l-o-n-g time with almost every one containing an accident.  She just didn't get it.  Eventually she was in undies (age 4ish) but still had an accident nearly every day.  *sigh*   She is still not dry most nights, and she is 8.  Obviously there is a physical thing happening here and she just wasn't ready before she turned 3.
N - N is my only son.  When he was just turning 2 he was constantly taking off his sposies and complaining that they were wet even though they were dry as far as I could tell.  I would actually take them, hide them in a drawer and put them on him later in the day.  But he soon caught on to that.  We were wasting money left and right on sposies.  He began asking to potty.  I literally tried put him off for a couple of weeks - remember I loathe potty training.  I am not kidding.  Yep, I put him off.  And I had a good reason.  It was football season and I didn't want to be rushing to the potty every time we went somewhere.  But, he was fascinated with the ugly porta-potties at the ball field.  He.insisted.on.going.every.game.  It was an all out kicking whining fit until I took him kind of thing.  So, each ballgame we would go into the gross porta-potty and 'potty'.  Agh.  Well, he decided he wanted to potty at home.  So, with all signs pointing to potty readiness I gave in.  I took him to stuff mart and let him pick underwear and a potty.  Success!  He went potty, wore undies and stayed dry for 2 weeks!  Then one morning he got out of bed and said, "I'm not going to potty any more."  (That is a literal quote.)  And he hasn't.  He is almost 3 1/2 now.  Yes, I've tried to get him to go potty!  I even take his diapers away from time to time.  He just doesn't care - remember he is not going to potty any more.  He meant it.  I use cloth diapers for him now.  Spending money on endless disposables is not a concern - the cloth diapers are already paid for and reusable.  The messes are in his diapers and not on my floors.  Do I worry that others will look down on me - or him - for not pottying.  Nah.  I'm 40 years old.  The opinions of others just do not matter to me much any more.  I do have cloth pocket training pants for him.  When we go to church he wears his trainers (stuffed with an extra insert) so if he gets the sudden desire to potty again he can pull them down and have at it just like all the other little boys in his class that are probably potty trained by now.
K - K is my babe.  She just turned 18 months.  She often tells me when she needs a clean diaper.  Ha - she will even tell me when N needs a clean diaper!  N gets aggravated at her.  You see, my sniffer doesn't work very well;  I tend to not smell things unless they are brought to my attention so when she tattles on him he has to endure another diaper change which he hates.  LOL   I am in no hurry to train her.  K will begin using the potty when K asks to go and not a moment sooner.  If I'm lucky K and N will both begin going potty at the same time.  Two birds with one stone.

Do you have a late trainer?  How do you feel about moms who let their children train late?  Have you ever had to eat your words when your 2nd or later child didn't potty train as easily as the first?

Blueberry Syrup

Here is my recipe for Blueberry Syrup.  I came up with it spur of the minute like when I couldn't find my mom's recipe.  It turned out really yummy!

 Blueberry Syrup
2 cups blueberries (don't forget to rinse your berries with cold water)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Mix in a bowl and microwave about 8 minutes, stirring halfway. (Microwave times vary of course.  Cook until it reaches the consistency you like.)
Serve on top of pancakes.  For a super yummy treat top with whipped topping!


What is your favorite pancake topping?  Or, what is your favorite way to eat blueberries?  You can share your recipe if you'd like!

Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup!

As usual, I did not plan our meal for tonight.  I plan to meal plan - and never quite get it done.  So at 6pm, when most moms have food on the table (or are at least cooking it) my hubby and oldest daughter "M" (age 12) were saying 'What's for supper??'  Honestly, I had not thought about it.  Supper was the last thing on my mind after a day of running and doing.  I literally had not held my 3yo all day.  That is a very terrible thing in my book.  The last thing I wanted to do was get busy cooking.  I wanted to hold my son and spend a few minutes playing with him!  I ended up in the kitchen - and spending time with my girls!  Yep!  M decided we should have pancakes (with strawberries, blueberry syrup and whipped topping), eggs, sausage and bacon - AND she was going to help cook!  As shock trickled from my hair to my toes, I agreed to the endeavor.  No sooner had I recovered, but my 8 yo daughter "A" demanded to help also!  So, I helped my girls cook supper while I held my baby and watched my 3yo zoom through the kitchen with his cars and dinosaurs.  It was great!  An unexpected happy bonding time with my girls.  A momma needs those times.  :o)

Do your children help you in the kitchen?  Would you be 'shocked' if your older child offered to help cook? 

This and That and A Little Bit of Nothing

The last few weeks have found me busier than usual.  Here are just a few of the things that have been on my plate - besides chocolate covered AND filled doughnuts (thanks hubby!).
* friends, friends, friends:  Can we just say that sometimes my girls are not deprived socially?  I can not count the number of times they have spent the night away from home, or had someone spend the night here in the last few weeks.  I know one friend was at my house 4 days in a row - yep.  And we even took her on an out of state trip to a zoo.  Which brings me to the next thing on my list...
*zoo:  We loaded up and took a day trip to the New Orleans Zoo.  This was our 2nd day trip to New Orleans in the past 4 weeks or so BTW.  The New Orleans Zoo is beautiful and the animals are a big plus.  On this particular day the animals were especially active because the day was just a tad cool and cloudy.  A perfect get outside and do something day for animals AND humans.  I even took along Flat Stanley, who was sent to us from the great state of Ohio.  My hubby and children loved giving me strange stares when I would stop to take pics of Stanley.  I wish I could share a few here, but my computer is completely against all things camera related for the time being.
*grandparents:  We spent 3 days and 2 nights at my mom and dad's this week.  It is always fun to see other people chase after my kids. ;o)  I took my oldest daughter and my son on a trek to the old pasture pond only to get stuck once I realized I couldn't make it back across the small creek due to slippery mud while holding a 3 yo.  So... the proud and wonderful neighbor's dog gladly rescued us and showed us how to get out of the woods mud free, no joke!
*other grandparents:  We have gone over to my in-laws a few times to eat and hang out.  One day in particular was icy cold (in a southern Mississippi kind of way) but I bravely spent it outside with my son doing things such as digging in the sand, playing Frisbee with the dog, patting horses, and fishing.  It was a really great day - the grandparents didn't get to see my son that day, but I did and I loved it!
*sickness:  We have had an unusual for us amount of colds/sore throats/headaches in the last few weeks.  This current round of illness has had each of us on the couch at one time or another.  We are sick and tired of it, literally.
*diapers:  With some of our tax return money, hubby agreed that I could buy some ~fancy~ diapers!  My definition of a ~fancy~ diaper:  a too cute diaper that is easy for church, grandparents, and daddy, AKA  not.a.prefold.  So, I am now the very proud owner of 3 new Happy Heineys, a Fuzzibunz Elite (which I got for free from Kelly's Closet), and 2 new Kissaluvs pocket trainers which I use as pocket diapers for my 3 yo son who REFUSES to potty!  Yay me!  And since I use mostly prefolds I also splurged on 2 girly covers from Zookies - LOVE them.  Oh - and 3 preemie sized BabyKicks hemp prefolds.  Yep preemie size.  I use them to stuff pocket diapers and to layer with cotton prefolds from time to time.
*blogging:  I haven't blogged much, that is obvious.  I've tried.  Several times.  There were many days when the New Post page wouldn't load.  I don't know if the problem was on my end (old computer, dial up service) or theirs (Blogger).  I wish I had written my post ideas down with good ol' pen and paper because now I haven't a clue what they were.
*sewing:  Not really.  There is this dream I have of actually creating all the wonderful sewing projects I have planned in my mind and bought material for.  I did actually make a few wipes one day and I took the elastic out of an old project so I could turn it into something new, but -bleh- those don't count.  I want to make something beautiful and more useful than a wipe!
*firemen:  One beautiful Saturday morning we smelled something burning in our house so I turned off all the electrical breakers, we all went outside and I called the fire department.   Two firetrucks and half a dozen or so firemen later, they discovered that the ceiling fan in the living room was smoking.  After getting all of our fire hazards pointed out to me and being told that they would come back and install more smoke detectors, I am left with lights that do not work in my living room, my dining area, and my kitchen.  Thankfully most of the outlets and all of my appliances still work.  Now we need money for an electrician and a new ceiling fan, but at least we have a house.  My backyard neighbors weren't as fortunate.  The very next weekend after our incident, our neighbor's house burned.  Luckily for them they weren't home.  Or, maybe not lucky.  If we had not been home our house may have burned.  If they had been home maybe theirs wouldn't have?

Have the last few weeks been busier than normal for you?  What is something that has been on your plate?

Update - My Goals to Focus on for the Next 12 Weeks

This is an update to my post here.
** I've copied and pasted my 4 goals.  In red lettering I am telling it like it is - or how it ain't. **
Here are my 4 goals for the next 12 weeks:
1.)  I will post to my blog at least once each week.  (resolution 6)   It has been 22 days since I set this goal.  Twenty-two days is 3 weeks and a day, so I should have posted 3 times to meet my goal so far.  This is my 5th post in the 22 days, so I'm doing pretty good on this one!
2.)  I will join at least 2 blog hops.  (resolution 6)  I joined one blog hop - Super Stalker Sunday, the weekend of January 22.  I plan to join that hop again.  I picked up a few followers and a piece of great advice. 
3.)  I will learn how to make a fleece diaper cover using a pair of Carter's fleece pajamas - and actually make it.  (resolution 4)  This is where I begin telling it how it ain't!  This goal ain't happening!  So far this goal is a big fail.  I have not spent a single second on this project.  I want to, but wanting and doing are two different animals!
4.)  I will help my daughter get 5 more reviews posted to her new blog, Mariah's Bookshelf.  (resolution 5) My daughter has posted NOTHING.  I have gently prodded and encouraged my daughter to post another review.  I'm not sure what happened to her excitement over her blog.  Maybe she will post something soon...??

The way I see it, the 12 weeks will be over around the end of March, give or take.  Whew!  Lucky, for me I still have time to get some things done!

Are you working on any specific goals or resolutions?    Are you making progress towards reaching them?

A's Cupcake Birthday Party was a Complete Success!

I am so excited to report that my daughter's Cupcake Birthday Party was a blast for all the kids in attendance.  The idea for this party was a spur of the moment decision to have cupcakes for the neighborhood kids on the afternoon of A's 8th birthday.  It was spur of the moment because last Saturday I was on the phone with hubby finding out - much to A's disappointment - that he would have to work on her birthday.  This was very disappointing to A for 2 reasons:  1.) Hubby used to be self-employed and had made the habit of being at home on each family member's birthday.  We are still not used to him always being at someone else's beck and call.  and 2.) A was hoping to take her birthday trip to the New Orleans Aquarium ON her birthday day.   Since I couldn't bear to see the disappointment on A's face, I told her we would have cupcakes for her neighborhood friends.  The cupcake idea quickly turned into a full fledged birthday party with homemade invitations and coordinating party supplies!
We invited 8 friends and 7 of them attended the party, and the 8th friend visited earlier in the day.  I say 'attended the party' loosely.  You see, the hours for the party were from 2 to 4.  Two of the children showed up at 11 !  Two others came and went a few times in a 30 minute time frame around 11:30 - 12 ~ one of those children returned at 2 for the party.  Another 2 children came at 12:30.  And 2 children arrived around 2 for the party.  The last guest left at 6.  These children are all used to coming and going around here, so I guess they figured birthday party day should be no different!   So, my daughter ended up with a 7 hour party!  LOL
All the children enjoyed decorating their own cupcakes - yes, plural.  They were all asking to decorate another, so I let them all have 2.   All the cupcakes were very pretty, and apparently very yummy also!
I hope my kids get enough rest tonight because we have to get up early and head to New Orleans for A's birthday trip.  It is almost 2 AM and I am sitting here blogging while the cloth diapers wash.  I didn't have time to get the diapers washed - what with 10 kids running around at a 7 hour long birthday party!  I need a vacation.

Happy Birthday A !

My 2nd daughter, A, will be turning 8 today.  I can't believe she is already 8! 
She is very, VERY excited.  She actually just walked up to me grinning ear to ear and bouncing, singing 'I'm al-most e-i-gh-t!'  LOL 
She should be in bed.  It is 11:20 pm.  She is not in bed because my oven broke.  Just. stopped. working.  So, we went to my in-laws to bake cupcakes for her cupcake party tomorrow afternoon, and a cake for her family party tomorrow night.  We just got home.  She and two of her siblings are still wreaking havoc on the house because I am on the computer checking e-mail, e-mailing a shopping list to my hubby (who is working a midnight madness sale and will stop by Wal-Mart on the way home), and posting about A's 8th birthday.


Happy Birthday A !
You are precious to me. 
Your smile can light up a room. 
I am so very glad to be your momma!