Never again as long as I live

Never again, as long as I live, will I ever have to buy diapers again!!  *happy dance* 

Erica is officially wearing big girl panties morning, noon, and overnight with zero accidents for going on a week.  I figured I'd give myself at least that long so I knew it wasn't a fluke before shouting the news from the rooftops. 

We've been working on potty training since about March.  I got super frustrated when a couple of months ago it seemed like she still wasn't getting it and it was costing more to buy pull-ups than diapers.  I went back to diapers for a couple of weeks and tried not to care.  Bought more pull-ups because they are way more convenient and tried not to think of the extra cost when I could pull them down whenever the opportunity for potty training was at hand instead of dealing with the hassle of a diaper.  And then one magical day a couple of weeks ago she said she wanted panties.  We had a frank discussion (well, as frank as it gets when she's still two) about how if mommy puts you in panties and you poop in them mommy throws them in the trash and we don't buy new ones.  She said she understood, and we donned the bribery I had bought months ago and had been languishing in her drawer: monkey panties.  And she proceeded never to pee in them again.  Well, okay, there was one accident.  ONE. 

Once I knew it wasn't a fluke because it had lasted three days, we went to the store and let her pick out two more packages - Minnie and Dora.  We lost two pair of Minnie because she pooped in them.  I spent two days pleading with her to poop in the potty which she responded to by avoiding pooping to the point of impending constipation.  I spent an evening drinking adult beverages sitting in the empty bathtub while she sat on the toilet crying and chanting 'no poop potty'.  And the next day the promise of a $1 balloon got her over the hump and we are pooping in the potty regularly, too.

It's like I just got a $30/month raise now that I don't have to buy diapers of any kind.  My purse has ceased to moonlight as a diaper bag whenever I leave the house with the kids in tow.  And I just have to be more conscious of the "go before you leave" ritual and know where every public restroom is at all times.

NEVER AGAIN feels like heaven!  Of course I'm sure OCD people like me are saying "well, what about when you are a grandma, then you'll probably buy diapers again and that's still in your lifetime".  So I will rephrase for my OCD as well.  I'll never ever ever ever ever have to buy diapers for my own children ever again as long as I live.  Can you tell I'm super excited or what?

A day in the life

Yesterday was crazy.  Unglamorous.  Tiring.  Typical.  It started in the morning with Erica begging me not to leave her before I'd finished getting her dressed.  It was really whining which is in fact worse than begging.  There were tears and "me miss you" cries when I dropped her off at daycare.  I'm pretty sure they have a toddler handbook that explains explicitly how to tug at your mom's heartstrings because she's a pro.  And when Daddy picked her up from daycare later that day, she didn't want to leave because she was having so much fun.  Figures.  When I got home from work, she had fallen asleep.  It was 5:30 - PM!  Did I mention she refuses to nap at daycare?  Such a little stinker.  I couldn't wake her up no matter how I tried and she was still asleep two hours later - even after I loaded her into the car so we could go pick up Erin and the carpool dancers.  She clearly still needs a nap everyday.

I drove Erin and her dance friend halfway across the valley to where her friend lives, chatted in the driveway with her mom, my dance mom friend, while the kids basically screamed at each other through the back window and everyone yelled at their toddler to stay out of the street.  Because we stayed to chat, we got behind.  I had to rush home to get dinner shoved down their gullets before it was bedtime.  It WAS bedtime when Erin realized she had homework that was due the next morning.  Of course it was math homework and they are teaching a new math curriculum so, even if I could remember my own elementary school days and learning math over twenty years ago, I still couldn't help her because it's all different now.  Awesome.  At 9:30 Erin made the decision to get more help the next day and turn her assignment in a day late.  And I emailed her teacher pleading for a math book to be allowed a trip home daily so I have at least a slim chance in hell at helping her figure it out.

I tucked both girls into their beds - a half an hour late - and hoped like hell Erica was tired even though she'd had a two hour nap two hours before.  Erin was asleep quickly, Erica cried for an hour off and on.  All I wanted was to go to bed myself.  Instead, I gave in and rocked my baby to sleep while watching the season finale of Fringe - that's been on my DVR waiting for me to have such a free hour alone to watch it... since May.

The life of a mommy is so glamorous, don't you think?  I sure wouldn't trade it even when I have days like this one where everything I had planned to accomplish is still waiting to be done when I fall into bed after midnight.