Day 3

The taste of sweet success...

Reporting from the Trenches

Do you know what all of those books on being pregnant with twins dont tell you? They dont tell you that you eventually have to potty train them, nor do they tell you how to potty train them. Now, that is a book I would actually read at this point!

We have been dabbling in potty training since the fall with Maddie. Ruthie started showing interest in March and has been hit or miss with it. I have basically been of the attitude that if they go, great! If they dont, I will change them and we will try again. No biggie. Then came last week, and the life altering decision I made. I signed the girls up for pre-school, beginning in August. School rule is that if you are in the 3 year old class (which they will be), you have to be potty trained. And not like potty trained in pull ups, they mean potty trained in panties. I checked. So, the clock was ticking. What better time to start then this week? (I have since learned there is no such time as a good time, it just sucks all around).

So, the girls woke up on Thursday morning and I informed them there are no more diapers and no more pull ups during the day. They will be wearing training pants and only wear pull ups while napping and sleeping. They were fine with the idea. Then I brought them down stairs to potty training central which basically involves them staying in the kitchen with me all day going to the potty every 15 minutes, then extending it to every 30, then 45, etc. This is what they did all day.....

As you can see below, no toys, no TV, just lots of salty snacks and beverages. You can see how thrilled I am sitting on the floor watching the clock and waiting to catch one them trying to poop.

They are smart little girls and waited until their nap to poop, so I had to try to get them to poop in the potty the next day. They can pee in the potty all day long, but will not poop in there. So frustrating. That was my goal for Day 2.

Back in the trenches on Day 2.

I did allow some toys today, which they were thrilled about.

By the end of the day it looked like a mine field in my kitchen.

I even let them go outside for a couple of hours and play. I brought the potty outside and we kept up our routine out there. And then, EUREKA! Maddie pooped on the potty! It was an exciting moment for me. I had promised them that if they pooped on the potty that I would give them a big bowl of ice cream with sprinkles. They talked about it all day long, and finally Maddie earned her reward.

Ruthie on the other hand had not pooped yet, so she didnt get any. This did not go over well with her.

So, she sat on the potty, watching Maddie eating her ice cream, hoping to poop and get some for herself.

Her bowels were not cooperative and refused to assist her in getting ice cream. She remained bitter for the rest of the afternoon about it.

Tomorrow is Day 3! Back to the trenches we go!

X Marks the Spot

I absolutely LOVE having my back rubbed. I have ever since I was a little child. Now I love massages. I cant afford them, but it doesnt change how much I love them.

My mom has always rubbed my back, especially at night, growing up. Now, she does it to all 4 of the grandkids. It calms them down in an instant. You will see her usually in church with a grand kid sprawled out in her lap and she is rubbing their back. She does it differently for the grandkids though. She has a little rhyme that she says as she draws pictures on their backs. It goes, "X marks the spot, a circle and a dot. A line and a dash, and a big question smash. Up and down and up and down" and then she tickles their necks. As she says it she is drawing those shapes on their backs. My girls LOVE this game! They ask for it by calling it, "Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot Dot". We have changed it up a little so instead of at the end of the end tickling the neck we "pinch the bottom". So, every night after their bath, they both lay on the floor and I say the rhyme and do the shapes on their backs. A few nights ago, Maddie asked if she could do it on my back. I was shocked to find out that she has the rhyme memorized. The drawing of the shapes not so much, but I will give her a break since she is only two. Well, then Maddie decided she wanted to do it on Ruthie's back and vice versa. The result is below.

Helper Kind and Good

The girls are at a really cute stage where they like to "help". I put the word "help" in quotations because, let's face it, how much can two 2-year olds with their own agendas actually help. They love to help me unload the dishwasher. This has resulted in at least2 broken plates and several pieces of silverware having to go back in due to being dropped on the ground. Once again, great "help".

Recently their "helping" has extended to one another. They will bring each other things that they *think* the other one would like. If their helpful gift is rejected (usually Maddie rejecting Ruthie's), a melt down normally ensues. Ah, the joys of sharing and helping.

Every time that we come into the house the girls take off their shoes and their coats. I have recently been trying to teach them to do it themeselves. Ruthie has it down pat. She can rip off her shoes and coat before Maddie even has time to unzip. So, instead of me helping Maddie, Ruthie has decided to take over that roll. So much so that Maddie will not let me help her take off her coat and shoes. She informs me that, "No Momma! Ruthie help Maddie." I took pictures of how this helping looks.

This is the position that Maddie assumes for Ruthie to "help" her....

Ruthie trying hard....

That position wasnt working so Maddie rolled over for a better angle...

AHHHH!!! The taste of sweet success!

Now onto the coats....

I couldnt get a picture of it, but after she unzips it Ruthie practically drags Maddie to the ground trying to get it off her arms. Then when all is done she comes running to me and proclaims, "Ruthie help Maddie, Momma!"

My little helper, kind and good.

Snow Day!

So, I dont know if you heard, but Tennessee got a little bit of snow a week ago. I will admit, most of the complete freak outs about incoming precipitation are useless, but this one was valid. I think we ended up with like 4 to 6 inches, which is huge for down here. Schools were closed on the Friday of the storm, churches and stores were closed over the weekend and schools were STILL closed on Monday and Tuesday. Complete craziness.

I want to preface this post with the fact that there are several things I am embarrassed about in this entry, primarily because I am from NY and know better than this. I will point them out as I post.

I got the girls ready to go out in the snow (Ruthie is going through this "CHEESE" phase which is ruining ALL of our pictures!)

I am completely embarrassed that this was what my children wore outside. Rain boots, since we dont have snow boots, sweat pants since we didnt have snow pants and their jackets. Thanks to a Christmas gift from Mark's parents we had hats and mittens otherwise it would have looked even more ridiculous!

This could quite possibly be the worst.

We didnt have a sled, so we used a Tupperware box from the basement. I was completely embarrassed by this until we saw what some of the kids were using at the end of the street. We were high tech compared to the trashcan lids and cardboard boxes others were using.


Ruthie was the only one that would go in it. Maddie just ran behind it cheering them on.

This was at the end of our street. It was mass chaos! I guess this is one of the only benefits of living in a subdivison that could easily qualify as the highest level of incline on a treadmill. That also meant we couldnt drive into or out of our subdivision for like 3 days though.

Ruthie was completely into the snow experience.

Making snow angels with Daddy...

Then there was Maddie. As with most things in life, Maddie "no like" the whole snow thing. She kept screaming that her boots were "messy, messy" from the snow, as well as her mittens. This was what most of my pictures of her look like.

After she got to watch the big kids sled down the hill she cheered up a little and I was able to get this one.

We stayed out for 30 to 45 minutes, which was significantly longer than I had expected. This was the most snow I had seen in Nashville since I have lived here, and Mark couldn't remember ever seeing this much snow in Nashville before, so who knows when they will see this again at home.

Jesus Loves Me

It is times like this I really begin to understand what Jesus was saying when he said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matt. 19:14

We were able to keep Ruthie quiet to the very end by letting her play with my phone. Hence at the end when you hear her yelling, "Mommy's phone!".

Book Review

This book review is brought to you by Ruthie and Maddie (with translation by Momma). They have chosen the classic "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" by Eileen Christlow.


Here is their interpretation of a childhood classic....