a dash of sassitude

I accidentally started potty training Little Miss Princess a few weeks ago. How does one accidentally potty train? Well, it went something like this:

I was reading some emails about teaching your kids the value of money. One person said they had taught their preschooler to value money AND potty trained at the same. Basically, they held up the child’s diaper and said that every diaper he used cost money. If he didn’t use diapers, they would have money to buy more of his favorite toy animals. Another parent piped up that they had done something similar.

I told Little Miss Amber that if she didn’t potty in her diapers and kept her undies dry, she could have a baby doll. I have to admit, I was being a little flippant and not for a minute did I think it would work.

I left for the day to run errands and when I got home, Little Miss Princess was asleep on her older sister’s shoulder. In undies. Which she had managed to keep dry all day.

AND SHE HAD TALKED ALL DAY ABOUT HER BABY DOLL. You know, the one I didn’t buy because I wasn’t serious. I took off for the dollar store and bought three cloth dolls and two coloring books. Then I headed to another store and bought her a nice baby doll. The plan was forming as I shopped.

We got home and I had my daughter quickly make a chart while I praised Little Miss Princess for doing so well. I told her that if she kept trying, she would get a prize that evening. Every time we took her potty, she put a sticker on her chart if her undies were dry. If she pooped on the toilet, she got an extra star.

Most evenings, she got a prize, and by the end of a week, she had few accidents and filled in her entire chart. She earned her nice baby doll and cheers from her family.

I keep her in diapers at night (we co-sleep and I’m not that brave), but she rarely wakes up wet. I’m hoping to buy two or three cloth diapers for night time use before we run out of this pack of diapers (which will take a few months at this rate).

She naps in her undies and we recently went on our first outing with her in her undies. She did great.

Accidentally potty training Works For Me.

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Boy, you had to wait for this one huh. Yesterday, right after breakfast, three of the kids opened birthday gifts (we’re a bit behind for two of them). After that crazy fun, I gave four of the kids haircuts, got the kids going on potato salad, went to the store, got everything ready for the BBQ, and then we all headed to the BBQ. We had a blast visiting with friends, but both my hubby and my son’s allergies kicked up pretty bad. The evening ended with my son throwing up all over the blanket he was sitting on. Too much heat and sweet food I think.

Today, another haircut, more errands, and some deep conversations. And here we are.

Using the Violets are Blue random generator, we have a winner.

The randomly picked number is: 17

Congratulations, Karen R!

She won on her second comment when she subscribed to my blog. Karen, email me with your name and address. I’ll get this out to you soon.

Next giveaway coming up this week.

coming soon. Yesterday was jam packed with activity and this morning is busy, too. I’ll choose the winner and announce it this afternoon. Stay tuned.

Don’t forget to enter my two giveaways ending Friday. Click on Events and Giveaways at the top of the blog to find the links to both of them.

Christine was tagged for the following meme over on From Dates to Diapers, and beyond! and I thought it would be a fun way to get to know each other.

Tagging is a great way to network, meet new friends, and get acquainted with other bloggers!

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1 ) What I was doing 10 years ago…

I was only half the mom I am now. As in I only had three kids and now have six lol. We lived here in this house. I was a homeschooling SAHM. Guess what?! I’m still a homeschooling SAHM soon to be homeschooling WAHM.

2 ) What are five things on your to-do list for today?

• go to a grocery game class
• exercise
• teach the kiddos
• try to get us better still
• write a blog post

3 ) Snacks I enjoy…

• carrots
• cucumbers
• fruit
• ice cream
• popcorn

4 ) Five things I would do if I were a billionaire…

• pay off all debt
• move to a home with a little bit of land for the kids to enjoy
• give money and gifts to people who need a blessing
• invest it
• have some fun

5 ) Three Bad Habits…

• procrastinate
• can be a wee impatient
• spend too much time online

6 ) 5 places I have lived…

• Texas (born)
• Okinawa (when I was a little girl)
• England (when I was an older little girl)
• Virginia (Blue Ridge Mountains and Virginia Beach from age 10 to young adult)
• Montana, Oregon, Canada, Oregon (as an adult)

7 ) 5 Jobs I have had

• Navy Reserves (hospital corpsman)
• worked in a pet store
• hair dresser
• wife (yes, it does take work)
• Mom (hard work, but rewarding)

I’m tagging: Artistic Flare, LadyBug, Kailani, Mommy Cracked, Prairie Mama, Lindsey, Jules, Gina, and YOU! Leave a comment if you post this meme and I’ll link to you in this post.

I have a friend I’ve known since we were about 12. We have some crazy memories that can get us both laughing hysterically. Thanks to the internet, we can stay in touch through email and chat.

Right now, a dark shadow hangs over my friend, Gina. Her husband has an aggressive form of prostrate cancer. They are currently raising funds to help get him to an alternative treatment center in California.

Gina came up with a great idea to help raise the money. She compiled a cookbook in PDF format and is only asking $1.00 per book. They officially launched the cookbook fund raiser in March. To date, she has raised $13,030 of the $20,000 needed through the sale of the cookbook and donations. You can find out more at her website here.

Now, friends of theirs, the VIP Travel Family, have come up with another fund raiser idea to hopefully bring in the last $7,000. You can go to the website and set up your own fund raiser page. For every $25 you raise online, your name will be entered in a drawing for ten different vacations from VIP Travel Services Online. The challenge goes from May 13th at 8:00 a.m. until Sunday, June 1st at 5:00 p.m. If you’d rather not enter the challenge, but would like to donate to help get George into the treatment center, you can click on my fund raising page. You can also track how the Online Challengers are doing. Finally, you can leave a message in the guest book to encourage George and Gina. They would appreciate your prayers, too.

Thanks for helping out whether through prayers or financially. I know they appreciate it. The sooner they can get George admitted into the program, the better.