Potty Training 101

I've been potty training the twins (it's been a long ongoing process) and this is how it really is potty training 3 year old (I started right before their 3rd birthday) twin boys.  We started the potty training journey in the middle of summer.  I thought it would be a perfect time to start because they could pee outside.  First of all, we live pretty far off a road, and we're surrounded by trees, so no one can even see us.  So I decided to not buy pull ups (a first time ever thing for me, I used them with all my other kids) because it would just be so expensive for twins and the fact that they are just a glorified diaper.  Anyways, I put them in undies and let them run around the yard, in just undies.  They peed through them all. the. time!!  I had a stash in the garage, so I didn't need to go inside to get more undies.  I gave them control of where they wanted to pee.  So they chose various trees, bushes, plants, rocks, and off the deck (watch out below!!!).  And talk about praise, I backed up every pee on the tree, with a nice piece of candy, which I also had stashed in the garage next to their extra undies.  They were starting to get the hang of it.  It was exciting to see them make progress.  
Now, when we go away, public restrooms are a cool place to visit.  It never fails, they want to try out every public bathroom they can.  At home, they never tell me they have to go potty, but the minute we step into Aldi, Target, Meijer, and anywhere that is not home, they tell me they have to go potty.  I don't know what it is with them and public restrooms, maybe it is the way the toilet flushes and they don't have to wait for it to refill to flush it again, maybe it's the stalls with the locks on the doors, maybe it's the soap dispenser, or maybe it is the hand dryer (they love to put their hands and then heads underneath it).  I have no idea why they like it, they just do.  I took Alli to get her haircut where her Aunt Leah works.  It's a little bit aways, so when we got there I was going to have the boys go potty.  Public restroom, so no problem, right!?!  This bathroom was the kind with no stalls, just one potty and a sink.  I get sick of how long it takes to have one go and then the other, so I had the bright idea of standing the boys on opposite sides of the toilet, so they could go at the same time.  Reed starts to go and misses the toilet by a long shot, but had a perfect arch over the toilet and was drenching his brother, Luke, in pee.  Thankfully, it landed mostly on Luke's waist and his pants were down, so it only got on his clothes a little bit.  Reed and I started to laugh, and Luke looked at us and started to laugh too.  I think he was pretty startled by being peed on and didn't know what to make of it until we started to laugh.  Lesson learned, do not have little boys stand directly across each other while peeing, it's a recipe for disaster.  
As I mentioned earlier, the boys love public restrooms.  We went grocery shopping last week and they decided they needed to go potty at Meijers.  I took them to the one in the back of the store, so there wasn't as many people in there.  Good thing too.   I hauled my cart in there (it had no merchandise in it, just Alli and the twins).  It was one of those coveted bench seat carts and I didn't want anyone to take it.  I had to basically jam that cart through the door and it took up the entire restroom aisle.  We were the only ones in there, so I didn't feel bad about my cart blocking all the sinks and the hand dryer.  So, I learned my lesson to do one at time, and I was helping Reed in one of the stalls.  Luke went into the handicapped one and locked the stall door!  Then, every mother's worst nightmare, Luke started to army crawl under the door, ON THE GROUND! So gross!  I tried to get a hold of that little boy and he squirmed back into the locked handicapped stall.  I wrapped it up with Reed and then went to try to get Luke out of that stall.  I told him to get out of there, but he said he was peeing.  I couldn't tell, so I tried to peer through the cracks of the stall and couldn't see anything because the toilet was so far away from the stall door.  I heard him flush and he got the door unlocked all by himself (I breathed a sigh of relief because I didn't want to crawl under there to get him out), and I promptly took him and washed his germy public bathroom hands.  They had fun at the hand dryer and we finally got out of there and finished up grocery shopping.
We are still potty training, everyday gets a bit better (famous last words!!!).  I'm sure I'll have many more fun incidents potty training these boys.  

Bright Idea

The weather has been beautiful this week, so I decided that I would take full advantage of it.  We, the twins and I, met my friend, and her little girls, at the park yesterday and let the kids run off a bunch of energy.  The boys loved it and had a lot of fun.  After we went to the park, I decided that since we were already out of the house, we would go clothes shopping for me at Clothes Junkie (an upscale, secondhand, women's clothes, retail business).  I haven't been there in awhile, and I just wanted to get a few new (to me) shirts.  Talk about a horrendous idea.  The twins were already good and worn out from the park, and they were really ready just to head home for the day.  While I was picking out stuff to try on, the boys thought it would be a good idea to play inside the clothes rack.  After pulling them out of there, more than once, and trying to be firm with them, without success, I was almost ready to try some clothes on.  I spotted 2 chairs and books set out for kids in the store, so I encouraged the boys to sit there while i looked at one more final rack.  Meanwhile, my big double side by side stroller was in the way of other shoppers.  A woman walked passed it and got caught up in the shirts I had hanging from the stroller handle.  I profusely apologized.  Embarrassed, I then looked over at the boys and they were rough  housing by the chairs.  I really should have stopped right there and left, but I didn't.  I hauled those boys into the small dressing room with me, and began to try on clothes.  The boys each had a book to look at (they were the stores).  One was a normal kids book and the other was one with really cool pop ups.  So they were busy looking at those while I got busy throwing on shirts.  It didn't last long.  They were crawling outside of the dressing room door and back in again.  The store owner gave them some smarties, trying to help me out in calming them down.  As soon as those smarties were gobbled down, they were back at it.  Reed, or was it Luke, was sitting on his brother's head while his brother was screaming.  I don't know what possesses them to do things like that, except that they are 3 year old boys.  Meanwhile, I'm working up a sweat and trying to go as fast as I can with these clothes.  Finally, I'm done and ready to check out.  I bring the items up to her, along with the books and a hand full of ripped out pop ups.  Talk about a face full of shame (mine!!!).  I overspend, because I can't think straight and apologize to the owner, who looks more than ready to see us leave.  I tell her, "they're not always this bad, but then again, I don't ever take them clothes shopping with me."  Her response, "I can see why."  That comment clearly stated to me that she had had it with them too.  I got the boys, loaded them up in the car, and left.  They didn't even make it a minute down the road before they were out.  Lesson learned, don't, just don't got clothes shopping with two, tired, three year old, boys.  It's just not worth it.

A Good Sense of Humor

Fore note:  We have one set of neighbors who live right on the main road (we're set back in a wooded lot).  That is all the neighbors we have.  They are a very nice middle age couple.  They have one son, who is married, and no grandchildren.  Ross knows them pretty well, but the kids and I don't, since we mainly stay in our yard and don't venture that far up often.  

Allison and Clay were outside playing with the twins (Leanne was inside reading) and I suggested they pick flowers for the neighbor lady since I get many of their precious flower (weeds) bouquet.  They thought it was a great idea and went to work picking.  I went back inside to attempt to clean up my baking mess, while making several glances out the window to check on the twinners.  I came back outside, once I had the kitchen under control, to find it very eerily quiet.  It came rushing back to me about them picking flowers for the neighbor and I ran down the driveway to get them.  Thankfully, they were on the way back from their house.  Allison and Clay were walking along side of Luke and Reed, who were only in t-shirts and undies (we started potty training).  Grimacing, I asked how it went bringing the flowers to the neighbor lady.  Allison said, "They weren't home."  Clay said, "We think they are on vacation with their cat."  I thought, okay, this sounds a bit odd.  When I questioned them on why they thought they were on vacation with their cat, Clay's response was "We didn't see the cat."  Their cat is an indoor cat, so I knew I had to dig a little deeper on this one.  I asked them what they did with the flowers and both of them responded with, "we put them on the counter."  I was really confused at this point and almost afraid to probe deeper.  So I asked if it was in the counter in the garage (thinking it might be on a work bench or something), Clay said, "No, we left it on the counter of their kitchen."  My mind was exploding with the phrase in their kitchen.  I then asked them if they walked around in their house and I was relieved when Clay answered, "We know we aren't supposed to do that."  I had a little talk with them about if the neighbor is not home or no one answers the door, not to go inside the house.  I also addressed them taking the twins up to the neighbors, since it's right by a busy road.  And they learned that they need to tell their mom where they are going and to let me know when they are leaving.  They learned a lot in a space of a few minutes.  I couldn't bring myself to walk back up there later when the neighbors were home, to let them know it my kids who put flowers on their counter.  I figured that they would know it was them, since we are their only neighbors.  Ross went up their for me instead.  I was relieved since he knows them a lot better than I do.  I walked up there when Ross was talking to the neighbor guy.  Ross asked me if I knew what the kids put the flowers in.  I didn't know the answer to that one, I had assumed they just laid flowers on her counter.  The neighbor man filled me in with what happened.  He was taking a nap and heard something in the kitchen.  He thought it was his wife coming in, so he quick pulled on a pair of shorts and headed out to the kitchen.  There was no one in the kitchen, but on the counter was flowers in a beer can.  My face turned about 5 shades of red, but all 3 of us were laughing!  I can't believe out all the things they could choose from, they chose a BEER CAN!  We let him know that our kids will not be entering in his house with out them answering the door.  He said that he didn't care and found it funny.  So thankful for nice neighbors with a good sense of humor.

We love Tennessee!!

We just got back from an amazing vacation in Sevierville, Tennessee.    It's Ross' and I forth time there, Leanne and Clay's second time, and a first for Allison, Luke, and Reed. 

We left here on Friday morning at 3:30 A.M.  The kids did great in the car on the way down to Tennessee.  Maybe about 5 minutes of crying from the twins, I couldn't ask for it to go any better.

 

Reed riding in the back of the car

 

 

Allison and Luke in a deep sleep



 

We made it there in twelve hours with a few stops along the way to eat and stretch our legs.  We really didn't do much exploring when we got there.  The kids were having fun being out of the car and playing with the air hockey table in the lower level of the cabin.

 

 The name of our cabin was Hidden Romance.  Yep,

the romance sure was hidden.  We stayed in this

cabin because Ross knows the owner.  (Reed in red,

Luke in blue)

 

 

 

 





 

It is a beautiful cabin.  The main floor has a fully equipped kitchen, nice family room, small laundry room (my favorite thing there), half bath, and a large bedroom with a KING size bed (at one point we did end up have 3 kids in the bed and we were not squished!!!!!!).  Our bedroom had a Jacuzzi tub in the actual room (the kids loved taking baths in there, I'm sure they were not thinking of it for that purpose when they built it that way). There is also a hot tub on the deck that the kids loved using. The loft had a Foosball table and a pullout twin sleeper sofa. 

 

 

Leanne and Allison slept together on the twin

sleeper sofa.





 

 

The cabin also had a lower level.  The  lower level had an air hockey table, video games (if they still call them that), and a pool table.  This is also where the boys slept on a large pull out sofa bed.



 

Luke on left, Clay, and Reed on right

 

 

On Saturday we went exploring.  We took the kids to throw rocks in the river.  They could do this for hours.

 

Luke in white, Reed in green





 

When they were finished doing that, we went to go check out abandoned houses in the Smokey Mountains.  Ross loves that sort of thing and Leanne is exactly like her daddy in that respect.

 

 



 

Ross and the kids sitting on the steps that used to go to

a house.



 

Enjoying ice cream at the cabin

 

 

 

Sunday we listened to a sermon online in the cabin and then went for a nature drive in Cades Cove. 



 

small, adult, male, black bear (that's what the park

ranger told us)

 

Horses they use for trail rides.  One of the horses

came right up to our car and stuck his head in.

 

Family picture

 

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a fun

self picture

 

Family picture at Cades Cove

 

Can't help but laugh at Clay.  What a goof!

 

We would always do a big breakfast in the morning

and a light snack in the afternoon. 

 











 On Monday we went to the aquarium.  This aquarium is well worth the money.  My camera died, as in broke, right before the awesome walk through tunnel where the sharks swim over.  I was pretty bummed not to take pictures of that, but it is what it is.

 

"Not another picture, mom!" Luke would not

leave Ross' side, so he missed out on a photo opportunity.

 

I have a secret.  I really love to look at huge ugly odd

fish.  The odder the better.  If I'm looking at the Yahoo

stories, and there is a picture of an odd fish,

I have to look at it and read the article. When

we had cable, I used to always watch River Monsters. 

 

Look at this fish!!! My favorite in this tank because

it's so odd and HUGE!!!

 

See that catfish behind me?  I'm one happy girl.  I

want to try noodling.  For those that don't know

what this is, it's where you go down south to a river

that has huge catfish.  Instead of using a fishing pole,

you either stick your hand or foot in the catfish's mouth

and pull it up that way.  Ross said if I ever get to do that,

he'd watch from shore.

 

I didn't deserve the mother of the year award right then.

I got so caught up with these odd fish, I forgot about Reed.

He was sitting there crying for a few minutes before I

even noticed.  My face was red with embarrassment. 

This is a selfie of Reed and I and he still hasn't forgiven me

quite yet.

 

 

The last picture I took before my camera quit.



 

It took us 4-5 hours to go through the aquarium and then we headed back to the cabin for a little rest.  We went to Pizza Hut and took that to the river for a picnic.  We went swimming after we finished eating.

 

Tuesday we went to Clingmans Dome (after we bought a new camera).  It is a paved walkway to a top of a mountain with a lookout.  It is pretty much a upward winding paved hike. 

 

View of the mountains from the top of Clingmans Dome

 

Reed and mommy  

 

Luke and Daddy

 

The older three.  If you look in the background of

the picture, you can see a little bit of tan.  The little

bit of tan is the parking lot.

 

Sometimes it's just easier to pull them down

the mountain, instead of pushing them down. Ross

and I each took turns pushing the boys up the path.

People couldn't believe we were.  I even had a man

shake my hand at the top because he said he could

barely make it up there himself and I was pushing

a stroller.  It really wasn't that bad.





 

After we did Clingmans Dome, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Chimney Tops.  Chimney Tops is a park with picnic tables.  It is a must if you go to Tennessee. 

 

 

Allison, checking out the rocks.  Clay is down there

in the yellow shirt.

 

picture of the picnic area

 

I stayed with the little ones while Clay and Leanne

were rock hopping.

 

Allison is doing a happy dance because she rock

hopped all the way over to this rock.

 

Clay could have cared less about his socks

and shoes being soaking wet.

 

The twins found a good rock to lie down on and

take a rest.  (Reed in gray, Luke in blue)



 



We also took the kids swimming in the river again that night.  We all collapsed into bed after that.  Wednesday we didn't do as much.  After a bit of a lazy morning, we took the kids fishing down by the pond near our cabin.

 



Clay, with his first catch.

 

Alli, with her first catch.

 

The twins didn't fish, but they liked touching it.

 

Unconventional bait.  We didn't have worms, so

we fished with hot dogs, pretzels, and cookies.

 

The fish liked the cookie bait she used.

 

The pond was located at the end of a curvy, steep, downward road.  Alli

and I decided to run back up it.  We were hot and

tired after doing that.

 We took the kids swimming again that evening.  It was pretty hot in Tennessee, so we did this often.

 



 

 

Clay, Alli, and Leanne playing Titanic.



 

 

Thursday was our last full day in Tennessee.  We had a large breakfast, packed up the cabin, and did a little bit of shopping at the local country stores.  Then we took the kids to the Titanic Museum.  Leanne is obsessed with the Titanic and has read a lot about it.

 

The twins are showing their souvenir pennies here. 

Luke in blue, Reed in red.

 





The museum does not allow people to take pictures inside of it, so this is all I got of it.  Leanne was one happy girl.  We went out to eat, and then after that, Ross came up with a surprise for the kids for their last night in Tennessee.





 

 

 

Ross noticed that this open grassy area became full of fireflies at night.  We took some clear plastic cups and let the kids catch them.  The kids liked dad's surprise. 

 

The following morning we left.  It took us 13 hours to get home because of bad traffic and rain.  Ross got to drive home with this lovely mirror.

 

 

 

 

The story behind the mirror is, before we left I may have accidentally backed up out of the garage, and hit the mirror on the side of the garage door.  Well, at that time, it only had two cracks.  Ross, one evening in Tennessee, went out to the store and then went for a drive by himself.  I guess he was checking out a house and got too close to a mailbox, as he was going around a curve.  He only nicked the mail box, the mirror fell off and the glass was smashed. At least it was the mirror that was already cracked.

 

 

We had a great family vacation.  I couldn't have asked for more.  I'm so happy we were able to go this year.  Although, I may need a vacation from vacation.