Oh my what a week we have had here at our house! On top of homeschool,church responsibilities and workouts I am potty training my three year old. My patience has been sorely tested this week and in all honesty I have lost it a time or two!
Hannah is a wonderful potty trainer in some ways.She WANTS to go on the potty!Great!Awesome!This IS progress I am thankful for. The down side is that every 5-10 minutes (right through the middle of math lessons no less) she wants to go sit on the potty.This is not my great frustration. The frustration comes when she sits for five minutes then says “My potty later mom” and hops down just to repeat this whole seen 10 minutes later!I didn't want to just drop school for the week.So we plugged along doing all that we could. Dealing with the interruptions.
Then my dear hubby tells me mid week that he will not only NOT be off early on Friday(which sometimes happens) but he will be working Friday all day AND all night! At the end of what has been a fairly long and trying week this was NOT what I wanted to hear. Now before I make you believe I was all doom and gloom this week we have had some great successes!Hannah is making it in the potty almost every time.She can “do the deed” completely on her own. These are exciting developments and it feels great to only have 1 in diapers now!
Upon hearing my hubbies news I knew I had to do something Friday to get through the day without being a total grouch.So we planned a trip to the library(our favorite place).Then to the play place at the BX (base exchange for you civilians) and then we were going to rent a redbox movie and have a movie night.
All of those things would surely brighten my Friday. Friday morning I got some perspective on my whole week and how wonderful it had all been when I got up Friday morning and saw the news about the quake and tsunami.Honestly it didn't really stop me in my tracks.I had too much on my mind I’m ashamed to say.But thank goodness for my children and the lessons they teach me. Isaiah had asked me what the strongest metal was. I didn't know and our response to a question we cant answer is going straight to the computer ;0) So we head that way and the first thing Isaiah see’s is a picture of the devastation in Japan.
“What is THAT Mom?” That question started a long discussion about the earth quake and resulting tsunami and what was happening to the poor people there. Followed by an internet search for sites explaining how earthquakes and tsunamis happen.We also talked about relief efforts and things like the Red Cross.
At the end of this discussion I asked my kids what WE could do for the people in Japan.On my mind was prayer. Isaiah said “We could send them money.” Isaiah is a very financially minded guy for his age. We talked about the different places we could put our money to help out.Then the boys leave,the discussion is over. Minutes later they come back with all there “fun money” from there banks.Telling me that they want to give it to help out in Japan.
As I have had time to mull all this over in my mind I have really been blessed with some perspective. How good my life is, how much I have to be thankful for each day. A potty training three year old, homeschool, the things I am taught by my children, and a husband who has a job and is working long hours.
What a week this has been. We are praying for those affected by the quake and tsunami and are trying to find more ways that we can help. I hope that we can all use this tragedy to get some perspective on things and as an opportunity to come outside of ourselves,reach out and help others.
1 comment:
I have little to no advice on patience and perspective, as I most often lack those too, but potty training is HARD. I found it much harder when I did it after the age of 2 with my first daughter. She was ready, but the usual, little-by-little way was too aggravating, so I did a little weekend-long boot camp. A box of cookies (which she very rarely got before), TV on cartoon channel (which she had never watched), and a potty in front of it. In 2 days she got it, minimal accidents afterwards. The main impediment with doing it the lengthy way is when you leave the house and must revert to diapers. In the boot camp way, you take the diapers, put them in the trash (and yes, they were cloth so I did waste that one pair) emphatically and every single time she has to go it has to be the potty. If it is a hit, the TV stays on, and she gets a cookie. If it was a miss, the TV is off until the next time she goes in the potty. Next time it is a hit, the TV is turned on. Another hit - another cookie. Plenty of juice and salty snacks and tons of hugs and praises :) Not saying it's the best way, but it worked for me so it's worth a shot.
With my second we did it little by little but only because we started before she was 'ready', around 17-18 months. It is easier before they develop a personality :) She was done before she turned 2, and fully potty trained even at night by 2 and a half. I hear boys are harder. Hang in there and good luck!
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