The Joys (and horror) of Potty Training...

 

 

 

Well, Little Man Tate is just about 22 months old and to be quite frank, I'm sick of changing diapers. I'm sick of making sure I have enough of them when I go on a trip or to the grocery store. I'm sick of disinfecting Koala Bear stations so I can lay him down without feeling like a terrible mother. SO, I started potty training. Why not, right? Should be a piece of cake...!? Well, I started January 29th, 2013, a week ago today. I used the ebook featured on this site: http://www.3daypottytraining.com/.

 

First, I'll preface and say it took 3.5 days, not 3. Second, I'll proudly say that after 7 days of no diapers, my son has stopped peeing on my floor and started peeing in the toilet! Those first few days were rough. Actually, not true. Day 1 was amazing. I thought to myself as Tate lead me to the bathroom each time he had to do his business, Wow, this is a breeze. My son is a genius (HAHA). Don't get me wrong, we had an accident or two but overall he was very, very successful on that glorious day. Day 2 was a little worse than Day 1, which was expected. I mean, after all, he couldn't completely communicate to me that he had to use the bathroom and I was left trying to figure out his nonverbal cues. I blame myself for at least 1/2 the accidents that happened on Day 2. He even manages to successfully stay dry all night long! We had this down, right?

 

Then Day 3 came. It started of great, he continued to lead me to the potty, "Up Momma" he'd say. He'd take my hand in his and make a B line for the bathroom. That lasted for about 3 hours that morning. Then, he decided he didn't need the potty. And then the accidents started. He'd look at me, after I gently reminded him to "tell momma if you have to go potty" & "we have to keep our undies dry", and say "uh-oh" as he wet himself. Then, he'd fight with me as I tried to pull him into the bathroom, hoping we'd get there soon enough to finish. This went on for 3 horrific, awful, messy hours. He'd pee. Then he'd poop. Then he'd pee again. I swear, it was his way of rebelling against me. Showing me that he was NOT going to cooperate.

 

I swear, once the afternoon rolled around, I was ready to call it quits. Forget this! I thought, I'd gone through a bottle of floor cleaner and couldn't handle any more. Of course, that is exactly the moment he came to me, grabbed my hand and said "Up Momma". He lead me right to the potty, attempted to pull his undies down and climbed onto the stood. As he did his business, he looked at me and clapped. He was so dang proud of himself. Of course, I was too! I clapped and clapped, even broke out the potty dance!!! I wasn't sure if I was more happy knowing I wouldn't have to clean the carpet again or knowing that it had finally clicked for him and he had this figured out!!

 

Like I said, we are currently on day 7. We've had 4 successfully dry nights and 4 accident free days. I know that there will be set backs and wet bedsheets, but for now, I'll relish in the moment when he tries to exclaim that he peed to any and everyone who will listen!

 



Cheesy Chicken & Black Bean Burrito

I'm guilty...I cook the same foods over and over again. I'm trying to be more creative and "different" with my food choices but sometimes it's a better thought than an action.

Anyway! I found this recipe on Pinterest, compliments of http://noblepig.com/2012/05/cheesy-chicken-and-black-bean-burritos/  . I'm not one to typically change a recipe but while I was getting everything prepared my husband made a few suggestions and we went with it. Here is my variation.

Cheesy Chicken & Black Bean Burrito

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups shredded chicken (I used a roitssery chicken)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can black beans-rinsed/drained
• 1/4 to a 1/2 can chicken broth
• 1/2 can zesty cheese sauce
• 10" tortillas
• lime cilantro rice, recipe follows

Saute onions, add garlic, chicken, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes & black beans. Add chicken broth to keep mixture wet but not soaked. Cook together until hot. (once the chicken mixture was warm, I put it into a bowl so I could use the same skillet for browning the tortilla)

Brush one side of your tortillas with butter, place butter side down in pan and fill with chicken mixture. Top with desired amount of cheese and (if you'd like) with rice. Fold up burrito and heat in skillet until tortilla is browned. Serve burrito with your favorite fixings. We used sour cream, tomato, lettuce, black olives and taco sauce. You can always serve the lime cilantro rice as a side.

This is was definitely a hit!! It was so good I forgot to take a picture until I was halfway finished with the burrito! I apologize for the poor quality of photo, I quickly used my phone so I could continue chowing down!!

This recipe makes approximately 6 burritos (depending how full you fill them)!. Each of  which are very very filling. I could barely finish mine.





Lime Cilantro Rice   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lime-cilantro-rice/

• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Bring water to a boil, stir the butter and rice into water. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until rice is tender. Stir the lime zest, lime juice and cilantro into the cooked rice just before serving. Makes 2 cups of rice.