Potty Prize

Josie has been working hard over the past month or so - using the potty. If you are familiar with me and my "potty training regime" you will know that I'm not a fan of a regime at all. Basically, I hate potty training.

My philosophy is: Wait until the child is old enough to get it ALL and then insist he/she use the potty. If the regime begins to fail - pull out ALL the stops with some amazing Potty Prizes. Offer anything. (Let's be honest, whatever it is, it's cheaper than diapers and better than cleaning up poo) Also - Josie LOVED for me to stand outside the door with my back to her and say, "I'm listening for pee pee." (so weird, but it honestly worked)

So, anyway, Josie finally got it ALL (goes without prompts, wipes, pulls up her pants, washes her hands). And as a prize she chose an Olaf balloon. {really?} You may remember her brother chose a bike. So...yeah...

Unfortunately, Olaf lived a short life.

Timeline:
12:30PM - Olaf is blown up in the store
12:45 - Josie poses with Olaf outside the store
1:15 - Olaf and Josie play
2:15 - Josie leaves Olaf behind while she goes to pick up Jack from school
2:45 - Josie returns home and shows Jack her Olaf
2:46 - Olaf takes a bat to the stomach. Done.

I'm sure you can imagine how this played out. I literally walked to the end of the driveway to get the mail and when I walked back into the house ALL HELL HAD BROKEN LOOSE. Josie was crying. Jack was hiding. Nolan (who had been catnapping in his carseat) was now awake and screaming. By the time I'd handed down Jack's punishment - I had THREE crying children and it was still WAY too early to pour myself a glass of wine.

In case you're wondering, Jack's punishment is that he has to give up his "life savings" to replace his sister's balloon. This was a HUGE blow, since he was saving for a new Skylander. Bummer.

Comerica Park

One of the things we have been telling Jack is that you have to use the potty to go to a Tiger's game. It's a white lie. Nevermind that he has been to 3-4 Tigers games as an infant...or that we were willing to bring his baby sister (still in diapers) along... Big boys go potty AND watch baseball. It worked.

So last Thursday Tyson took the day off work and we spent the afternoon at Comerica Park for a Tiger's game. As one would expect - Jack was in heaven.

 We had lunch there and - possibly for the first time EVER - NO BEER. What's that about?

Oh wait...this explains the NO BEER. That foam Tiger Paw cost $15. Did I miss something? When did  ballpark souvenirs get so expensive?? Whatever. Jack loved the game, loved the hotdog, loved the foam paw, and loved using the Men's Restroom while he was there.

It was a fun afternoon and it was great being back in Detroit!

One Week Later...

Annnnndddd we're back! Only a week later. Gosh. Moving is hard.

We had a successful and pleasant closing last Thursday evening. Jack and Josie joined us...which is always a tad stressful, but we stopped by the new house afterward and Jack ran around without pants on. "Welcome home, kid!"

On Friday, Grandma Nancy braved Ikea with Jack & Josie...while Tyson and I directed the movers. It was fairly painless, but somehow tiring. (Haven't figured that one out yet.)

On Sunday Jack and I ventured to our new pool (just 7 houses down) and Jack had a blast! So many kids and families! The best part was - when we were done, we walked away. I'm not kidding. That was the best part.

Later that afternoon Jack gave Josie a ride on her "princess car" and she scraped up her foot. She was really mad and rightly so... She's been hobbling around all week, milking this injury for all it's worth. Doesn't she look ticked??

My parents came Monday night to check out the new house. They have been spending some quality time with the grandkids and grand dogs.

And finally - Jack's BIG announcement:

He is 100% POTTY TRAINED. And it only took a day. Okay, well three and a half years (give or take) but honest to God - ONE day. He was like, "Yeah, I want to use the potty." Done.

And now he's cruising around on this. Because, let's face it, a new bike is WAY cheaper than 10 more boxes of diapers. And I'm not above bribes incentives - whatever.

Stay tuned for my potty training post...coming soon.