Potty Training Boot Camp. Day One.

I will start this post with a picture of my eldest. It is reassuring to know that the babies will be potty trained. Eventually.This is how I found Finley after I set her on the Potty. She is such a ham.
I hate potty training. Hate it with a passion. This is a cruel joke God plays on parents to test our reserve and our patience. Today - mine is little. Potty training two 2 1/2 year olds is going to push me over the edge. I am really in awe of John and Kate Plus 8 today!! Finley is doing pretty well, I have to say. She has a trucker's bladder and is only needing to use the potty about every 3 hours. Cainan on the other hand - ever 15 minutes that boy is wetting his pull up. SO not helpful. I was surprised to see he didn't have more control than that at this point. I finally had to put him in underwear because I was running out of pull ups by lunch time. Crazy! I sat him on the potty (and Finley too) every 30 minutes. At that point, Cainan was already wet, but Finley dry (but didn't have to go). So fun. NOT. Then I moved to every 15 minutes with Cainan - still nothing. So, the underwear appeared and we stayed on the tile floor until lunch time. Finally, after lunch Cainan did go in the potty! We all did a big cheer and dance! But, that scenario did not repeat today. Finley's pull up stayed dry the whole day and she used the potty several times. Yay! Let's hope it continues.

Sigh.

I keep thinking of all the money I am going to be saving, though, when I don't need diapers any more! It is going to buy us a trip to Disneyworld - it is THAT much money. $100's of dollars a month in diapers and wipes - gone with potty training. That is my only incentive. Otherwise, they could stay in diapers forever.
Finley and I did have one amusing conversation about potty training. I am using M+Ms as incentives to get her to go.
Me: Finley, if you go potty I will give you an M+M
Finley: M+M - yes!
Me: Go potty and I will give them to you
Finley: No, M+M first.There are going to be random pictures throughout this post before the regular set of photos at the bottom - just to warn you! My Finley was being especially photogenic today, so I wanted to post them, as well as a few of the other beautiful children that live in our house.
The kids are enjoying their vacation and I am getting a lot of projects done. I have painted the dining room, and have started painting the stairs down to the basement. The people that lived here before had 3 boys, so everything in the downstairs area - the mud room, the stairs and the playroom - all blue. That has to go. Our house is more girls, but I promise - no pinks or purples! That is reserved for the girls room. I am still mulling over the color of the playroom. That will be down the line. But the stairs and mudroom will be different shades of brown. I know I know - my world is beige. But it goes with EVERYTHING and if I chose to change carpet or flooring or furniture - I am all set.
The dining room is the same shade as the accent wall in our family room. It looks about a thousand times better. Gone are the scratches and dents and holes and marks, on and on and on. It makes me wonder what went on here! I know - three rowdy boys and two giant dogs couldn't have helped. They also liked to put numerous holes in odd places, so I am working on patching those up today. Pretty soon if the old owners returned, they wouldn't recognize their old house. Here is a picture of the dining room and the accent wall/new paint in the family room, kitchen. Hard to see in pictures, but a few people asked to see - so here you go!!

Dining Room
Living RoomWe did have a painting tragedy today. I was finishing up work on the stairs leading down to the basement. I was almost done when I kicked a can of paint over onto the stairs. I didn't have the stairs covered because that carpet is particularly awful and needs to be replaced, so I didn't care if I got a few spots on it. Well, now it has a LOT of spots on it. Actually, maybe I should just paint the stairs - it looks a lot better with the paint on it! Just kidding. We will be replacing the carpet. Eventually.Tomorrow Arlington has a play date with her good buddy "K" who lives on our block. Yay! She is going to be very excited. She received a ton of really cool things for her birthday, so the two of them can fill an afternoon playing with them. It will be midweek of the vacation and a good time for a change of playmates! I am sure she is getting tired of playing with Finley and Cainan.
My parents also arrive tomorrow evening for a visit through the weekend. I am anxious to have them come over AND I know they are doubly excited about getting to help paint. (aren't you???) If you ever come and visit me know that a project will project will be in store for you. (ha ha)
I wanted to thank our Nanny for the fun gift we received in the mail a few days ago.
Aren't they cool? Terrible towels AND yummy cookies. These cookies are from a restaurant in my home town that makes the BEST sugar cookies I have ever eaten. My parents always bring me some when they come to visit because those cookies are AWESOME. They are called "Smiley Cookies". Thank you Nanny of thinking of us! We are die hard Steeler fans and will put those towels to good use next year. AND....the cookies are all gone.
I am working on Arlington's quilt for her bed. I finished Finley's, and Arlington's will be finished soon. Here is a little taste of what it looks like.
I will show you the rest once both quilts are on the girls beds and their little room is looking like it is right out of the Pottery Barn Magazine. (Just kidding).
I also hung some pictures above their beds of some photos I took of Flowers of our yard. Their room theme is garden, so we are placing photographs of flowers all around the room. It will be cute when it is all done.So that is it!! The rest of the week we will be keeping busy and I am sure before we know it, we will be back at work and school for 7 LONG weeks before we get another break. (boo). Have a great week and we will see you Saturday! Enjoy the pictures!