more poop in the potty today

Big day - another poop on th potty - and in front of friends!!! More to write later!

Potty update and other things...

I apologize if all my blog seems to be about is poop or pee...but that is my life right now. With the occasional outings with friends - my life is revolving around this potty training. The good news... we have gone 4 straight days without a peepee accident. Bad news... Gavin has pooped at least once in his pants the past 2 days. I am still very excited about his achievements - and so is he. I am glad that he is proud of himself. I don't want to hurt his self esteem by pushing too hard, but so far he seems okay.

Patrick is still on call every other night. 5 more days to go. We have yet to receive the November schedule, but aren't too concerned as we are taking a mini-vacay together (sans the kids) to Florida so he can be in his friend, Johnny Pops', wedding. A nice 4 day break. And he knows he also got his birthday night off too - which was a nice added surprise. AND - I have a special date night planned for November 8 (I bought tickets a while ago to Pilobolus - google it). Our neighbors will watch the kids for the night so we can go and relax and enjoy a night out!

Last night the Advocates group (the wives club at the hospital) got a special treat from Edward Jones Financial group. One of our original members was a guy (the ONLY guy as far as I know to ever join) works for E.J.F. and asked me if we'd be interested in a seminar geared to "Smart Women Finish Rich". Of course we are interested!!!! So we went to a great restaurant in the German Village called Lindey's. It was totally paid for and sponsored by EJF and the Hartford Group. We did have to listen to a little spiel on investing - but a lot of the info was not investment related - just SMART IDEAS! Making sure you are taking advantage of your 401K (403B in our case for non-profit organizations), getting life insurance, disability insurance, paying off high interest debt. They had easy to use calculations and charts to see the differences. They talked about uncomfortable situations like how to take care of elderly parents, what happens if our husbands die or can't work or if we get sick. A lot of things we know in the back of our minds are a possibility but never want to think about. Well, they made us think- which was a good thing. So besides the lessons learned - we also got a delicious grown up meal (salad, main course and dessert - with some nice wine too), a great night out with friends (almost 20 of us), and more direction to a common goal which is to make sure we are prepared for the future - BUT ALSO ENJOYING WHAT WE HAVE NOW AND LOVING THE SITUATION WE ARE IN!!!! I wouldn't trade my days here for anything and I know that no matter how much money Patrick may make in the future, I will always remember the great friends and neighbors in Columbus, our struggles with finances and the frugal ways we had to make to survive, our never ending love for each other even though there was never ending hours put into work, and I will always remember our hopes and dreams for ourselves and our children.

Alright, enough sappy time, I am going to go snuggle up with my hubby - praying his pager doesn't go off anytime too soon!

One Giant Leap...

So for those of you following Potty Training 2007 here at the Bull house, we had a huge leap today! We had an intentional poop on the potty! Yes, that's right!!!

Yesterday we had one poopy pants - but no peepee pants! Today - again no peepee accidents but still one poopy...but it was different. He came up next to me (while I was on the phone) and did it. He got quiet, then I realized what was happening - threw down the phone - and sat him on the potty. It had already come out - but I expected more. But that didn't happen. Gavin went back to playing and about an hour later he came up to me again (while I was on the phone - ok, ok - I am on the phone too much) and said "Mommy, need poopies". So I immediately took him to the toilet and asked if he needed to poop. And he said YES!!!! So I sat him down, and he peed a little. So I asked if he was done, and he said "No - I need poopies". And then it happened! I never thought I would be as excited about someone else taking a dump - but it was the greatest feeling! One step closer to being diaper free for good! :-) He was so proud of himself - and he got 10 stickers so now he can buy a new movie or toy at the store tomorrow. He also told me he wants to poopy again tomorrow in the potty - so keep your fingers crossed!!!

Day 3 - I am serious this time

We are on day 3 of some hard core potty training. I know some people may disagree with trying too hard to make your kid trained - but Gavin is over 3, showed all the signs of being ready, and has gone before on the potty. Now I am staying in, keeping an eye on him as much as possible and making him sit on the potty every hour or two. Sometimes he pees there, sometimes I just wait another hour. The first day was awful. I am not putting ANY diapers on him during the day - just his Thomas Underwear. So we had 3 poopy pants and 5 peepees. Not a good start. He did, however, pee twice on the potty - but I was just bummed about how much he didn't care about going in his pants. The second day was a bit better. Patrick was post-call so he was home to help. We were very successful in the peepee category but not so much for poo. Only one peepee accident - in which he told us right away that he needed to go to the toilet - just AFTER he went. And only one poo that day - and it was in his pants. A big one!! YUCK!!! Today has been good. I am putting him on every 2 hours and he is going well. He still does not tell me he has to go - it is me putting him on a schedule. Maybe that is what he needs now? He did poop in his pants again today - but so far all peepee has been on the potty. And he even stayed dry at the gym (the only place we have ventured to during this time). So keep your fingers crossed that he will continue to get better!!!