Gumball Method

Every parent knows they will have to eventually endure the pains of potty training;  I think God adds jewels to moms (and dad's) crowns in heaven for this... not biblical, so don't quote me.  I decided to bite the bullet and finally go all in with potty training Ian. "All in" means no more diapers, so an "accident" is noticeable to say the least... and since we're potty training a puppy at the same time, I thought I better wait on Jovie... and hope she's taking notes! 

Every child has accidents...  but with Ian I didn't even know how much control he had.  Could he even be potty trained? I've agonized so much over this. I felt like we'd never know as long as he had his diapers, and at least I could get him to teetee on the potty. He had his surgery in November to help improve his muscles down there and at first we were very disappointed because outwardly the surgery did not change him... but it must have changed something on the inside! My boy is most certainly doing way better than I anticipated!! HUGE answer to prayer!!! You can not know the huge sigh of relief this is...  I've wanted him to be able to go to school in big boy underpants just like the rest of his classmates. I don't want my sweet boy to be singled out for being the only one in diapers in his class... and it looks like that is not going to be an issue for him.

I bought a gumball machine and for a reward for going "teetee" or "poopoo" Ian gets a quarter.  (I trained Mae with Skittles and it really didn't work... she still wanted her diaper and to stay a baby WAY more than a candy.)  With the gumball machine it is so much more than the candy... all the kids crowd around to watch as he puts in his coin and turns that dial. It's working so well that Jovie is now taking herself to the potty for her quarter too... it's a grand idea I can not take credit for. My best friend, Tamara came up with this one. I highly recommend the "gumball method".

Let me tell you the sweetest part of it all... Ian earns his jelly beans and shares them with his sisters. HE IS INCREDIBLE!!

Hard things

My dear friends,

I'm sorry.

I'm an on-again-off-again blogger... consistency in any social media form is just not my strong suit. If I am posting to instagram, then the blog gets forgotten—or vice-versa.  I don't know what my deal is really... I promise I don't neglect any of my children this way.

BUT this time I have a good reason for not keeping up... we have had a really HARD time since Ian's surgery. In an emotional, life-sucking, punch to the gut kind of way.  A week after Ian's surgery we started noticing things that at first I questioned. "Am I being an overly worried mother, or is this something I should be concerned about?"

Do y'all do this too? I want to trust my gut but I needed a little confidence to call the doctor. So Monday morning I was on the phone... left a detailed message for surgical at CHOA. I kept my phone in my pocket all day, waiting. And waiting. No call on Monday. Tuesday I called back and the recording says "do not leave duplicate messages"... Yeah, fat chance. By now I'm in full momma bear mode and my message was pretty direct. I NEED A CALL BACK.

So I started scrolling through my directory of folks we'd dealt with at CHOA, I called our urologist and emailed a PA over there, begging for a direct line or better way to get our doctor.

I finally got our doctor late Tuesday afternoon. She was concerned that he was still in pain and had a fever but didn't seem as upset by what I was seeing... which was gruesome to say the least, and I will spare you the details.

Right after I got off the phone, our urologist returned my call from my early frantic attempt. Sweet man. He was concerned and asked for me to send him pictures of the surgical site. He said Ian definitely had an infection and that he hoped we got ahead of this in enough time to let oral antibiotics work (he said "staph infection" and "we would need to go to the hospital if this didn't work." I panicked.

Looooong story short, this has been extremely difficult. It seems this surgery was unsuccessful and he will need to have another surgery with a temporary colostomy (to give him time to heal). The biggest victory has been that I feel like Ian and I have grown leaps and bounds. It was my prayer request to bond closer and that unquestionably happened.

Ian has been in a lot of pain, but has been in such good spirits despite it all. My sweet little boy was smiling from the moment they wheeled him back to us in the hospital and throughout this all. This has not been easy for him. Sitting has been pure torment. My precious momma took Mae to and from school every day. And we've been cooped up for two weeks. BUT his infection is gone. AND he is feeling much better.

We canceled our Thanksgiving plans, so it's likely you will see us at the Cracker Barrel, but here's my deep breath and my letting go.

Tomorrow is a new day. And I can do hard things.



 

In a box

Ah thank you, we got emails and comments from y'all with all kinds of suggetions for the car sickness. I did them ALL! I went to CVS and bought the sea bands for Ian, I put my iPad on the back of the seat so they would look forward, I fed them an hour earlier, turned the vent toward them and kept the car cool, I gave them a small dosage of Benadryl and I took a longer way to school to avoid a curvy route. Whew! And it proved to work, no puke to or from school... and Ian wasn't so upset either! 

I don't know which one of the many tips worked for us, but I am a happy momma if this continues to help them!! Thank you to all who shared your tips! Ian and Jovie thank you too!

So while Mae was in school I took Ian and Jovie to the grocery store to stock up on essentials - we are supposed to get a bad wintery storm here! And when we got home I made us all lunch and sat at the table between them. 

Ian and Jovie were having a little conversation among themselves and as it continued I found myself saying, "hey guys, what are y'all talking about?" I sat there quietly realizing I'm the third wheel here! Jovie and Ian are talking and laughing and I have NO idea what they are going on about! Bet that's never happened to you before! 

 I am glad they have each other. (: 

I want to give my thanks to Amazon for providing my kids with priceless entertainment. A very large box was delivered today, I guess I've found the perk to having 2 in different size diapers.  

They all wanted in and loved it! Every kid loves boxes, right? My 3 were enthralled and I realized the treasure I had too! Look all 3 are being contained and don't even know it (; So I made it my goal to see how long I could make this last... 

For a long time the box itself was fun. They'd all sit down and then all stand up over and over. I think they love being together. 

Next, I gave them crayons to color the box. The little ones liked the sound it made to color over the corrugated cardboard. They were trying to make it sound as loud as they could. 

When crayons were old I fed them snacks.

I got a full hour of *free* box babysitting! I actually got to CLEAN my house up for the first time in ages. Anyone got any other ideas for next time?