potty trained does not equal potty independent

I hate to sound so negative, but having all my children "potty trained" does not exactly make life easier.  We have 0 kids in diapers, and 0 kids who are completely potty independent.  Here's why there are some days I long for the convenience of diapers:
1.  A wet diaper can wait, a two-year-old can't.

2. The nature of using the bathroom provides ample opportunity for unspinning a whole roll of toilet paper, flushing not-always-appropriate or too-much-appropriate things down the toilet, using entirely too much soap, playing in the sink, and the list continues...

3. Outings and emergencies.  They happen at the most inconvenient times.

4. (Insert long dialog of the complexities of taking a 2, 3, and 4 yr old into a public bathroom).

5. Worthy of it's own number, one of our children is fearful of public restrooms, and on more than one occasion we have had to rush home, because "it" was not going to happen in a public toilet.

6.  Accidents and lots of them.  All toddlers have accidents.  It means cleaning up the floor, the child, and extra laundry.  We're averaging about 2 or 3 a day.

7. The potty chair.  While Brett and Lydia have become very comfortable using the "big potty", Reggie uses a potty chair.  It is a whole extra step that requires immediate attention.

8.  Boys and their (lack of) aim.

So, while it might be exciting to not have a diaper bag as a permanent companion, please hold your applause until all our kids always "go" on their own and don't leaving a mess behind.

the airplane and the park

It is always interesting how young minds process information. For example, the concept of their daddy going to an office building to "work" everyday is too abstract because they haven't experienced it with him.

What stands out in their minds, though, is that when Daddy travels for work and is gone for a couple days, Daddy tells them he is going on an airplane. The kids know airplanes as things that fly over our house, and they all shout "Airplane!" and point. Which leads them to conclude that, if he is not currently present, Daddy must be "working" on that airplane.

A few days ago, Daddy's "work" had a social gathering at a park and families were invited to attend. I told the kids we were going to a park with Daddy's "work". Boy, Daddy's "work" was a lot of fun! So much fun that they have been asking to go back to Daddy's "work" all week!

ten things about toddlers

1. They have no concept of time.

2. They are always reorganizing their environment. 3. They are raw emotion.

4. They want to be independent.

5. But they also want to hold on to some securities from their infancy.

6. They are little sponges absorbing all the information around them.

7. They want to control their environment.

8. There is no sense in using a logical argument to convince them of something.

9. They will go to extreme measures to get your attention.

10. When there's more than one, your best bet is to keep everything equal.

(I'm guessing this same list would basically apply to teenagers.)

if you take a toddler to the bathroom...

If a toddler catches site of you heading to the bathroom,

You might have to take him with you.

And if you take the toddler with you,

The Others will probably follow.

And when The Three are in the bathroom,

One's probably going to decide he needs to "use it".

And when he "goes" and gets praised,

Another's going to want to follow suit -

Though She has yet to "produce results".

And once they're done,

They're all going to want to wash their hands...

With lots of water and soap...

And brush their teeth...

With lots of spitting and rinsing.

And all of this provides ample opportunity for The Third to -

Unroll the toilet paper...

Dig through the garbage...

Touch yucky things...

Throw foreign objects into the toilet...

And fall head-first into the bathtub.

And while you're cleaning up the mess,

The Little Girl is probably going to decide to freshen up with her chapstick and hairbrush..

.

And as you're coaxing her out of the bathroom,

 

The Boys are probably going to escape to your bedroom.

To terrorize the cat.

Who has been in hiding for the last three years.

Which is why this is one of my favorite inventions:

theory of toddlertivity

The theory of toddlertivity goes something like this:

HT≤(WC×3)⋀3

When attempting to complete a household task (HT) while caring for a toddler, a caregiver can expect the amount of work created (WC) by the toddler to be equal to or greater than the household task completed. The work created (WC) grows exponentially with each additional toddler. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the caregiver to not attempt the household task.

But I'm a slow learner.

snowday

What do you do with 3 toddlers and a forecast for 16 inches of additional snow? First, you cancel your plans for the weekend. Then-knowing the snow, wind, and bitter cold is on it's way-you take the kids out for some fresh air the day before.

Snowangel:

Yum!

Another snapshot of Reggie in motion:

Then, the day of the actual storm, you set your toddlers in front of the window to watch cars getting stuck in the intersection.

When that gets boring, you move on to making snowmen...out of playdoh.After playdoh, time for some vacuuming - Brett's favorite chore.

Next, we decide to try out Brett's new Easybake Oven.

Brett says his cake was good.

And here is how Daddy is spending his snowday:

(this picture does not do the storm justice - it is really snowing, blowing, and drifting)

Now...what to do after nap???

"twins"

I've decided it doesn't matter what size or color they are, if they are sitting in a double stroller together, people will ask if they are twins. It has happened with Brett and Lydia, Lydia and Reggie, and - today - with Brett and Reggie. Twice.

With different races, people are being rude. With the brothers, people just aren't very observant.