WFMW: Potty-training Idea

When my older son was a little over two and a half, I was trying hard to think of some kind of reward to use while potty training. One of the things he loved, and still loves, was to be told how something worked. He would ask over and over again the way some children ask for their favorite bedtime story. One day I asked him if he would like for me to show him how the toilet worked. He was very interested in that, so I told him the next time he went potty, I would take the lid to the tank off and show him what was inside. If he wanted to, he could flush the toilet and watch it work.

This worked very well for him. Each time, after he went to the bathroom, we would reward him by taking off the tank lid so he could see inside. Sometimes he wanted an explanation of what was going on, and other times he just silently watched the “show”.

We found an added benefit to this when we were visiting away from home. Our friends and family almost always gave their permission to remove the lid to their tanks. Toilets basically work the same way, but the internal parts are often slightly different. This was exciting to our two-year-old, and helped him not to forget a trip to the toilet when he was having fun away from home.

This should be a good tip for those who have children with a bent towards things mechanical. It worked for me and my little guy! For more tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer.

Works-for-Me Wednesday - Double Sheeting

This is my first Works-For-Me-Wednesday post. I have gotten a lot of great ideas, so this week I’m going to play too.

Double-sheeting my kids’ beds has made life a lot easier for me. It came in handy just this week as my son had a stomach bug. I have talked to some moms who don’t know how to do this, so here is how:

You will need the following to double-sheet the bed: Two waterproof mattress pads and two fitted sheets. Put a waterproof mattress pad over the mattress, and top with a fitted sheet. If you are not working on a crib, go ahead and add a flat sheet and a folded pillowcase. That way you have a complete set underneath.

Now top with the second mattress pad, and finish making the bed as usual.

Now, whenever you need to, you can quickly remove the fitted sheet and top mattress pad to reveal clean sheets! This has helped me on so many levels. When my babies were small, I sometimes found myself standing at the crib with a sleeping baby in my arms. I would look down and see a drool ring on the sheet (or a worse ring!) In that case, the crib sheet and pad could be taken off with one hand before putting the baby down. It worked so well that I kept it up when they got older. It worked during night-time potty training, but it has been most helpful when a child gets sick in the night. I won’t be graphic, but you know what kind of “sick” I mean. This is usually accompanied by crying and chills. By double-sheeting, you can quickly remove the mess, and the sick child can crawl back into a nice, clean bed.

Another bonus: We use Peanut’s bed for a guest bed when we have overnight company. Since I double-sheet her bed, there are always clean sheets ready for the guests, I just take hers off to wash and put the blankets and bedspread back on.

For more great ideas, go to Rocks In My Dryer.

Jane Austen Adaptations

While we were iced in a while back, I had the chance to watch two Jane Austen movies. I just love her books, so I was excited to get to see two of them I hadn't already seen.

My mom lent me her copy of Pride and Prejudice. It is the new one with Kiera Knightly. I knew ahead of time that it was not going to be as good as the BBC miniseries. But it was enjoyable, and when you think how little time they had to tell the whole story, it wasn't bad. I know a lot of people like the fact that it is more realistic when you look at the differences in the Bennet family's conditions vs. the Darcy estate at Pemberley. Maybe so, but still it bugged me. And you can't convince me that they would let a pig actually walk through the house.

I also had an issue with one scene where Elizabeth is talking to Charlotte Lucas about Charlotte's new engagement to Mr. Collins. It ends with Charlotte saying, "Don't judge me!" Oh please. That was so out of character. I've heard that that was one of the scenes that was rewritten by Emma Thompson. Hmm...She did a really good job on her version of Sense and Sensibility. I wonder what else she changed in the screenplay?

Then, by accident, I found myself watching Clueless on TV one night. I had never seen that movie. I had heard that it was based on Austen's Emma. It took a little while, but I finally figured out how the movie was going to parallel the book in a few places. It was actually pretty cute. I liked how it didn't stereotype everyone like all the high school movies tend to do. The rich, spoiled girl was actually pretty sweet. And the new girl in school, who I thought was going to get on drugs and be a wreck, was kind of cute and dumb like Harriet Smith in the book. I just really enjoyed it, and I think I will watch it again sometime.

New State Song for Oklahoma

Have you seen this yet? Oklahoma’s new state song. This is for all the whiners, and that includes me! I wish I knew who wrote it.

SNO-klahoma,
with the cold fronts sweepin' down the plain,
And the piles of sleet beneath your feet
Follow right behind the freezing rain.
SNO-klahoma,
ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Travel home from work and hope some jerk
Doesn't wreck our car in passing by.
We know we belong to the land
But it could use more salt and more sand!
And when we say
Yeeow! Ayipioeeay!
You're slick as snot SNO-klahoma,
SNO-klahoma, Oy Vey!