i am pretty sure that my kids alone, are keeping the diaper industry in business! (mommy's potty 'vent')

One day the constant smell of poop in my nose (I know, TMI) will be a distant memory. Some might say that I will look back on these days, the ones where I can sometimes change 4 stinky diapers/pull-ups in less than an hour, and yearn for them, but I say, no $%@^* way! My kids are poop machines...both of them. I don't know how it happens, but it does...every. single. day. I long for the day when the potty becomes Xander's friend and not his enemy. I NEVER thought I would have to try so hard to convince him to do something. I hope that by the time he is old enough to really understand that it is MUCH faster to use the toilet than to go in a pull-up, that he will in fact be using the toilet. I don't know. I have my doubts sometimes.

Poor guy. Walking the line between baby-dom and big-boyhood. Wanting to do everything himself, but not wanting to do this one BIG thing by himself. I've just about tried it all, too. Every form of bribery, candy, chocolate, promises of daily trips to the ice cream shop, cheerios in the toilet, every cool pair of underwear I could find, going cold turkey, tinkle targets, piddlers, books, dvd's. But alas, he remains steadfast in his quest to hold on to the pull-up.

I should mention that the capability is there. He was well on his way before we went to Africa last spring (wow, was it last spring!). But when Ayla came home it all went out the window. Having her around (on the heels of us leaving him for over a week) was such a big change for him, that I stopped pushing in order to be sensitive to his transition to being a big brother. It's completely understandable and of course to be expected, but we've still not been able to get back to where we were. He just won't budge!

He's recently started opening up a little bit about his nemesis, the potty, and has told me that he's afraid to use it (not sure he's truly afraid or just smart enough to know what to say not to have to do it!). Each time he says this, I ask him what he's scared of. Here are some of his answers:
*it's too deep
*the flush is too loud
*m&m's are too crunchy (???)
*I'm afraid of the zoo (???)

I've decided not to make the same mistakes with Ayla. Besides, they say girls are easier, right? So we are already talking a lot about the potty and I am trying to teach her to say pee and poop. Several time now, she started tapping on her bottom and saying what sounds like poop. I checked and sure enough, she had a nice little present waiting for me. I'm hoping that is a sign of progress. I've also decided that Ayla will NEVER see a pull-up. EVER. I'm pretty sure that these diapers in disguise have been part of the reason why I'm having so much trouble with my little guy (there are others, but he's definitely hooked on the pull-up).

So, if anyone out there has ANY advice on how to potty-train a very spirited pre-schooler, PLEASE let me know. Until then I will keep my bottle of Febreeze handy and my money in the diaper biz!

a boy and his potty


a very small sampling of our potty paraphernalia