I get two M&M's!!!

Potty training is the pits. I'd personally like to not participate at all and just let her train herself. You see, I have this theory: If I don't pressure her, she'll get it in her own time. But this is kind of a catch 22. Nealie, who will be three at the end of June, is still perfectly content sitting in a dirty diaper. So what can I do? Really?
I'll tell you what I can do: BRIBERY. Yup, that's right. So, our deal is that she can have one M&M for trying and two M&M's for actually going potty. Amazingly, this slowly but surely caught on and now Nealie is a pro at going pee in the potty -- great start, fer sure.

So here's the kicker: I decided that she ONLY gets M&M's if she goes potty. So guess what? She stopped. Just like that. So I started back up the M&M's and she goes potty almost every time. Then I decided that she was doing so well, I'd let her cruise around in underwear. Get this: my kid can stay in the same diaper ALL day (minus naps and nighttime) and keep it dry, but she will go in her underwear and only run to the potty AFTER she's already gone. Oh, and she's no fool. "I get two M&M's?" Yeah, I don't think so.

I think that they should start a school where you send your kid and SOMEONE ELSE pottytrains them. Why not? You can send a dog away to these programs and they come back completely trained. Someone's really missing out on making millions.

For the meantime, we're gonna switch to pull ups (even though they're more expensive) and go from there. She's got lots of time, but I do fear that I am just turning my daughter into a chocolate addict rather than actually scaffolding her potty training.

Oh, and once they are potty trained, how do you wean them off the chocolate?

LIFE Happens

Occasionally, I look at my life (where it is now and where it was when we had Nealie) and I feel a rush of mixed emotions. When Nealie came into our lives a little over 2 1/2 years ago, I had a cat and I was a stay-at-home mom. Most of my friends also had babies and I went on a daily walk and yoga and playdates and... So, yeah, I was active in the Mommy world. Sadly, I feel very distant from that. I am 1 1/2 semesters away from being done with my Bachelor's Degree -- I graduate THIS December! My best friend moved to Longmont last year so I see her now maybe once a month rather than the once a week we enjoyed when she lived here. Many of my mommy friends are still stay at home moms and spend their weekends with their families, which I totally understand, but that's the only time I have Nealie and I'm not at school. It just gets frustrating.

All this is not to say that I do not enjoy my life now. We bought this great duplex with my aunt this last summer and we have been happily living here since August. We now have not one, not two, but THREE dogs (well, our new puppy will be coming home next month), Curtis and I are very happy, and Nealie is AMAZING. And I still have really wonderful friends in my life.

It's just interesting how life changes. I used to have playdates a few times a week, and now I frequent the dog park that often. I used to go to yoga two or three times a week and now that time is eaten by the 18 credits I'm taking this semester. And it's not bad, it's Just LIFE.

My little girl got a grown up haircut today. She says things to me like, "Actually, Mom, I am making dinner for us in my kitchen," and "After school, do I get to bring home my goodie bag?" She reads ME books, she's working on potty training, she dances, she is SO full of attitude...

A little bit of nostalgia in here mixed with a lot of happiness. I am grateful for where we are today. I love Nealie. I love having an ONLY child. I love having a housefull of dogs. I love my husband. I love my life.