She walked in the store and ran to the exact snake that she had picked out the week prior. After 3-5 successful potty trips per day for a week, the $12 snake was well worth it :)
Thursday, July 3, 2014
An Oversight from the "Weekend" Post!
I can't believe that I forgot to mention what Teagan and I did on Sunday in yesterday's post. Miss T had worked hard all week to fill up her potty sticker chart, so on Sunday afternoon, we took a trip to the store for her prize!
She walked in the store and ran to the exact snake that she had picked out the week prior. After 3-5 successful potty trips per day for a week, the $12 snake was well worth it :)
She walked in the store and ran to the exact snake that she had picked out the week prior. After 3-5 successful potty trips per day for a week, the $12 snake was well worth it :)
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Weekend Fun and World Pride!
We had a very busy extra long weekend in Toronto.
Jenn and and I kicked off our Pride by attending a Pride At Work event on Thursday night. We then grabbed a quick bite to eat with our friends, Justine and Andrea and Jenn's coworker, Jade. Our passes to the work event got us into the beer garden for the drag show. After a challenging day with my little people, I was thrilled to get out for the night.
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| The mural on the side of the 519 Community Centre |
My friend, Cheryl and I took the girls to an organic strawberry farm on Friday. It was a very hot day so I wasn't sure how the girls were going to handle being out "in the fields" under the blazing sun. With what seemed like unlimited amounts of strawberries to eat pick, the girls did just fine. Quinn was on a mission after Cheryl showed her which strawberries were ready to be picked.
My parents very kindly took the girls in for a sleepover on Saturday night. After dropping them off after lunch, Jenn, Sarah, Delia and I headed back down to the beer garden for some fun with friends. After some drinks and dinner, this sleep-deprived Mommy was spent. With the girls out of the house, a guaranteed full night's sleep was in store. I took full advantage and slept for 9 hours straight. Amazing!
My parents were lucky enough to receive a 5:30am wake up call from their granddaughters. Teagan did a fantastic job of peeing on the potty at their place, but announced to my Dad several times that she was going to wait to poo until she was with Mommy. Lucky me. We then took the girls down to celebrate the last day of Pride at the 519 Community Centre's splash pad. Unfortunately, their early morning wake up resulted in mid-morning crankiness so we didn't last for long. All in all, a fun World Pride weekend!
Someone only loosely followed their "taste but don't eat" rule!
After filling two baskets full of fresh strawberries, we got back in the car to head home. My goal was to put the girls down for a nap right when we got home. I had expected that the farm would have some healthy snacks for purchase, but they didn't have much. We ended up stopping at nearby grocery store to grab them a quick car-ready snack to supplement the pound of strawberries that they each ate. While Cheryl used the washroom, I plopped her baby in between the girls. I'm not going to lie. Seeing the girls put their arm around the little one and gently place her hand on the steering wheel, while giving her little kisses on the head, didn't help my baby fever.
Our friends, Sarah and Delia, arrived on Friday afternoon to celebrate World Pride. After the girls woke from their nap, the five of us went down to Church St. to meet up with Jenn. Set up was still underway since they block off about 2km of streets for the weekend. Teagan was acting off. She said that she was hot and tired. I chalked it up to the fact that they haven't been sleeping well. For at least ten days now, one or both of them have been up in the night at least once. Needless to say, we are all tired and a bit cranky. I grabbed them some food and she barely ate. When we arrived home, we got them ready for bed quickly, but she was definitely not feeling well. I eventually took her temperature and it was about 38.5C (101F). She was having trouble settling. She eventually fell asleep, only to wake 10 minutes later. I finally gave her a sippy cup with ice water and a drop of juice. Within 5 minutes of drinking it and putting a cold cloth on her head, she was revived. She was chatting normally and laughing. Mom of the year here…my kid was apparently dehydrated and maybe slightly heat stroked. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself since the behaviour matched that of an overtired Teagan. She ended up chatting and cuddling in bed with Jenn and I until 9:30pm. She, of course, loved it and didn't want to go back to bed. By the morning, she was acting normally and ready for the family Pride celebrations.
We took the girls down Family Pride on Saturday morning. Despite an early start to the day, Teagan was quite happy and got her face painted again (another tiger!). With bouncy castles, an obstacle course and a train, the girls were in heaven. A meltdown by Quinn prompted a quick exit unfortunately, but we all still enjoyed ourselves.
My parents very kindly took the girls in for a sleepover on Saturday night. After dropping them off after lunch, Jenn, Sarah, Delia and I headed back down to the beer garden for some fun with friends. After some drinks and dinner, this sleep-deprived Mommy was spent. With the girls out of the house, a guaranteed full night's sleep was in store. I took full advantage and slept for 9 hours straight. Amazing!
My parents were lucky enough to receive a 5:30am wake up call from their granddaughters. Teagan did a fantastic job of peeing on the potty at their place, but announced to my Dad several times that she was going to wait to poo until she was with Mommy. Lucky me. We then took the girls down to celebrate the last day of Pride at the 519 Community Centre's splash pad. Unfortunately, their early morning wake up resulted in mid-morning crankiness so we didn't last for long. All in all, a fun World Pride weekend!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Potties and Snakes
And, just like that, it happened...
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| My no-frills potty chart…on her way to a snake! (I'll explain) |
A few weeks ago, Teagan started showing more interest in using the potty. She would use it two or three times in a day and then have no interest the next. Then suddenly, it changed about a week ago. She started showing interest several times per day. I did my best to suggest it, but quite honestly, I'd often forget. Despite my forgetfulness, she ended up on the potty on her own. That's when I decided to start a "potty chart" -- more for my poor memory.
In the months following the girls first birthday, the "when are you going to potty train?" question started popping up. They weren't showing any interest so it wasn't even on my radar. Then I heard two horror stories from friends of potty training gone wrong. Parents push potty training. Kid isn't ready. Kid cries. Parents are frustrated. Lots of accidents and/or diaper use. Everyone is stressed. At that point, I decided to not potty train in the traditional sense. We purchased potties and placed them in the bathrooms. We started by simply suggesting that they sit on the potty before bath time. Initially, we were met with a quick "no!" As much as poop changes drove/drive me nuts, I wasn't overly concerned about it. After hearing the stories from friends, I vowed to not stress my kids or myself out. They will not be going to kindergarten in diapers.
There is a toy store near our house that has a kids area set up with a train table, a huge Sands Alive "sandbox" and an arts n' crafts table. While running errands, the girls often want to go in there to play. Jenn and Quinn ran a quick errand on the weekend, so Teagan and I went into the toy store. She was immediately drawn to a 5 foot long stuffed snake. She stopped in her tracks, put one hand on her hip with the other out with palm raised and asked in a serious voice, "Mommy, you got cash?!" I then entered into the impossible task of negotiating with a toddler. We finally decided that the snake would be her reward if she used the potty at least 20 times in the next six days. Up until now, high fives and lots of cheering have been our go-to rewards for potty usage. Admittedly, I am already loving less diaper changes, so I think the snake is worth it!
In the months following the girls first birthday, the "when are you going to potty train?" question started popping up. They weren't showing any interest so it wasn't even on my radar. Then I heard two horror stories from friends of potty training gone wrong. Parents push potty training. Kid isn't ready. Kid cries. Parents are frustrated. Lots of accidents and/or diaper use. Everyone is stressed. At that point, I decided to not potty train in the traditional sense. We purchased potties and placed them in the bathrooms. We started by simply suggesting that they sit on the potty before bath time. Initially, we were met with a quick "no!" As much as poop changes drove/drive me nuts, I wasn't overly concerned about it. After hearing the stories from friends, I vowed to not stress my kids or myself out. They will not be going to kindergarten in diapers.
There is a toy store near our house that has a kids area set up with a train table, a huge Sands Alive "sandbox" and an arts n' crafts table. While running errands, the girls often want to go in there to play. Jenn and Quinn ran a quick errand on the weekend, so Teagan and I went into the toy store. She was immediately drawn to a 5 foot long stuffed snake. She stopped in her tracks, put one hand on her hip with the other out with palm raised and asked in a serious voice, "Mommy, you got cash?!" I then entered into the impossible task of negotiating with a toddler. We finally decided that the snake would be her reward if she used the potty at least 20 times in the next six days. Up until now, high fives and lots of cheering have been our go-to rewards for potty usage. Admittedly, I am already loving less diaper changes, so I think the snake is worth it!
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