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Busy as a…little bird and other random thoughts

Img_6362Hi Friends. Crazy sewing frenzy: check. Sheesh- what a crazy last few weeks (and for the record, can I just say that Henry is starting week 4 of waking up at 5 a.m.!!!) Cripes! I thought it was just a phase, and now- we’ll I fear it’s not going away. We are an exhausted bunch over here. Anyway- working on some really fun aprons for the shop and I’ve got some crazy other things up my sleeve. I can’t commit to when my next update will be- sometime in the next few weeks, so just hang tight.

On to some other things I’m hoping you can help me out with:
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I think it just might be time. For about the last month or so, whenever Henry would have a wet or dirty diaper, he would immediately say "clean diaper", go into his closet and bring us clean one. I’m not sure what this all means, but we are going to give it a try. Does anyone have any brilliant idea’s on the subject? I should probably read something. There was a little brochure that came in the package, maybe I’ll read that. I don’t want to push him, if he’s not ready, but part of me thinks he might be. He sat on it as soon as I pulled it out of the box (fully clothed) and gave it another sit just before jumping into the bath. He seems pretty excited about having his very own.  My sister says she heard that Dr. Phil has some brilliant ideas on the subject?? (I’ve never seen an episode of the show- so I am in the dark here). Anyway- I’m sure you’ll all have lots of great advice.

Img_6290Henry & I went up to UCLA today to pick up Chris’ cap & gown for the big graduation this weekend. An hour & 1/2 later, an expired parking meter and getting a little lost, they wouldn’t release it to  his wife because I didn’t have a hand-written note giving me permission?!?!?! Looks like we’ll be doing the whole thing again tomorrow. I digress. We saw this little guy. There’s this funny rumor around UCLA that if there was ever a massive disaster, that there are enough squirrels on campus to tide over the entire town (gross, I know) but completely true. Don’t worry little squirrel, I would never eat you.

Talk about a completely random post. Aprons, toilet training & eating not eating squirrels. Someone’s terribly sleep deprived. 

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36 responses to “Busy as a…little bird and other random thoughts”

  1. vanessa suzanne lohrke Avatar
    vanessa suzanne lohrke

    here it is Morgs…ya just need a doll that pees. 🙂
    http://drphil.com/articles/article/264/

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  2. mandy sutcliffe Avatar
    mandy sutcliffe

    morgan your blog is just beautiful, the colours are all so bright and vibrant, I’m glad I found you, threw you finding me, threw the lovely Sheye!

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  3. Betsey Avatar
    Betsey

    I have no potty training advice, but I do have to say that the little bird is ADORABLE! I love the wings and the colors. It is so sweet!

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  4. strikkelise Avatar
    strikkelise

    That bird is lovely, genius detail with the buttons!
    I don’t know if it would be ‘proper’ in your parts of the world, but I’d say summer is a great season for trying to lose the diapers.
    Let him go without them as much as possible (obviously not at sleeping time or in the car), and treat all ‘accidents’ as nothing (keep him off the sofa obviously). Let him run around all naked when possible, too, and it will be easier for him to understand what happens and recognize the signs for when he should ‘go’. Let him sit on the potty after meals and before sleeping, if only for half a minute.

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  5. KBG Avatar
    KBG

    What finally worked for us with our daughter was a poster on the bathroom wall that she could put stickers on whenever there was a success. I think it’s different for everyone though.
    And my daughter actually went through a stage when she was about 2.5 yrs old where she would get up every morning at 6 or 5:30 or whenever she saw the sun. She was very, very crabby throughout the day until naptime because she wasn’t getting enough sleep. At the advice of a friend, I bought a small digital clock and put tape over the minutes so that all you could see was the hour. We learned what a 7 looks like, and she had to stay in bed until she saw a 7. I had to reinforce it for 2 mornings, but she’s stayed in bed until 7 since then (a year later) – just rolls over and goes back to sleep.
    I hope some of this helps you!

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  6. Mama Urchin Avatar
    Mama Urchin

    So, I would say he’s ready to start trying. Let him sit on the potty whenever he wants clothes or no clothes. Once he’s happy to do that then I would start trying to get him to sit on it with no pants before bedtime (bath) and naptime. I know there are a lot of good books out there although I haven’t read any of them. We just went with what seemed to make sense. You guys will do fine.

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  7. carole Avatar
    carole

    LOVE the fab aprons!!! the color and pattern mix is great, can not wait to see them in your shop

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  8. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    Like someone else said, you can find the full story on the Dr Phil website.
    We are currently using a video with Jack called Potty Power. You can find it on Amazon. As an adult, the video is cheesy as hell, but Jack LOVES it. It covers everything from underwear to hand washing.
    HOWEVER, having said all of that, I am not sure how old Henry is, but it seemed like Jack was interested for awhile, then he completely abandoned it. So, don’t be frustrated if it doesn’t go as planned yet!

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  9. mlg Avatar
    mlg

    If your boy is like most…You must get him some Tinkle Targets! They worked for my son!
    He couldn’t wait to try them out…even his dad wanted to try :o)
    Good Luck!
    http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/Tinkle-Targets-Cons-z.html

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  10. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    What a lovely, summery sewing project!
    I am afraid I have no advice for potty training–both mine were just shy of their 4th birthdays when they finally agreed to use the potty. I do think every kid is different–things that other folks assured me would get them using the toilet my daughters simply disregarded. So I guess my best advice is don’t get discouraged and don’t push it. And with my daughters, I swear just when I was about to lose it and figure on them wearing diapers forever (one of my daughters insisted she was) there was a day when they literally announced they were done with diapers and started using the potty.

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  11. jessi Avatar
    jessi

    I’ve been reading for a week or two now, but I had to comment today because of the potty training. We are just starting this with my 3 yr old and after two days, all I know is that it’s going to take a while. I feel completely clueless and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to check your comments for advice!
    Thanks for the lovely blog – I really enjoy it!

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  12. pam Avatar
    pam

    No advice, I think its different for girls, they’re motivated by pretty undies. Frankie just got up in the morning, wanted the pretty panties and that was it. NO EXAGGERATION. She was just a smidge over 2.
    Love the squirrel, I wouldn’t eat him either.

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  13. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    The toilet thing I can’t help on, because I’m not a mommy yet, but the sleep thing I might have an idea or two, because I used to do it.
    My mom used to just put out toys for me and I would play with them when I woke up in the morning and not wake anyone else up that way. And then she would come and get me when she was ready. And sometimes, I’d play myself back to sleep. Maybe that would work?

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  14. Candace Avatar
    Candace

    Love the bird!!! So cute, I can’t wait to see the finished pieces.
    Good luck with the potty training. We still (hopefully) have awhile to go before we start training our little man. I know I’ll be so happy when it’s done, but to me, there’s safety and security in diapers…crazy, I know 😉

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  15. Judy in Carefree Avatar
    Judy in Carefree

    My grandson turned 3 in March and my daughter spent one weekend in the house just training him. He still has an accident once in a great while, but with lots of candy rewards and water, she said it was a snap!

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  16. meg Avatar
    meg

    Sadly, my baby still seems content to sit in his own filth (he’s still young!), so I’ve no experience yet. I’m glad you brought it up, though – keep us posted, because I hope the boy will be gearing up soon, too! 🙂 Ooh, imagine how happy you’ll be when this phase is behind you….

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  17. Posey Avatar
    Posey

    How I potty trained my three kids was…first, it had to be spring or summer, then I would pick a day to start, that day they would wear a shirt and training pants. After every meal take them to the potty and ask several times in between. Don’t MAKE them sit for long periods, only if it is their choice. My daughter like to “read” books while sitting. Praise them!! Make it a pleasant experience, no yelling, pleading, etc. After the first day decide if they are ready…if they aren’t wait a few weeks and try again. When boys begin using the “big” potty, be sure and teach them to lower the seat after each use!! My sons still lower, husband never lowers!! Hope this helps!

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  18. Natalie Avatar
    Natalie

    Hello-we don’t know each other personally, but I love your website! We tried M & M’s, and neither these nor stickers worked. What finally did it? An “Easy Button” from Staples (like in their commercials)! We put it in the bathroom and our daughter could only push it if she used the potty. Worked like a charm–and nothing is funnier than hearing “that was easy!” from down the hall. Also worked for our neighbors’ daughter! Good luck!

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  19. shelley Avatar
    shelley

    ok girl… so henry and kennedy are the smae age. you and i bought the same potty. she carries it around, uses it for a chair to watch tv… but has started saying.. i go potty now, and will carry it back into the potty. this weekend. we decided we would make it work. we took her in there, but she wants to sit on the big girl potty. so we take the trainer apart, stick it to the big potty, it’s a great fit, and plop her up there. we get lots of books and we just sit and read together. we did this saturday for about 20 minutes then she wanted to “push the button”. i told her not until she pee-peed. so 10 minutes later she said all done, no pee pee. took her off.. SHE PEED!!! i screamed made a huge deal about it.. taught her how to flush, we wiped… she was sooo excited! then i took a business trip.. so who knows if daddy kept up on it! moral of the story… lots of books and some fun songs to sing. it’s no wonder we all read on the john! hhahaha
    good luck, girl! let me know how you’re doin!

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  20. megs Avatar
    megs

    Some must-have reads:

    http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Poops-My-Body-Science/dp/0916291456 (hehe.. I love this series!)
    What a cute little bird… cute little squirrel… I love spring!

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  21. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    I agree w/ the poster who said, this phase may pass. Jack went through it around 18 mons. and just now at 2 1/2 we are POTTY TRAINED (this past weekend!!!) We have the same potty (with the Buzz Lightyear stickers) so if there is a motivator for him like a character, movie or book that you can tie in, that has worked great. Also, it’s been gradual. Talking about it, playing with and sitting on the potty clothed, etc.
    One thing he LOVED a few weeks ago was “Once Upon a Potty” the video. We borrowed it from the lib. and got the book too. So he would say, “I’m on my potty, just like Joshua.” He has a best buddy (6 mons. older) who he knew used our potty and that was good for him to model after too. Just don’t stress and try to let him control it. If he doesn’t want to sit on it today, say, “okay, that’s your choice. Maybe we’ll try tomorrow.” (or, if he’s in the “contrary stage” say, “okay, don’t sit on it.” and if he is like Jack he’d jump on it right away!) I wish I hadn’t stressed about it so much and just let him control it from the very beginning!

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  22. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    I agree w/ the poster who said, this phase may pass. Jack went through it around 18 mons. and just now at 2 1/2 we are POTTY TRAINED (this past weekend!!!) We have the same potty (with the Buzz Lightyear stickers) so if there is a motivator for him like a character, movie or book that you can tie in, that has worked great. Also, it’s been gradual. Talking about it, playing with and sitting on the potty clothed, etc.
    One thing he LOVED a few weeks ago was “Once Upon a Potty” the video. We borrowed it from the lib. and got the book too. So he would say, “I’m on my potty, just like Joshua.” He has a best buddy (6 mons. older) who he knew used our potty and that was good for him to model after too. Just don’t stress and try to let him control it. If he doesn’t want to sit on it today, say, “okay, that’s your choice. Maybe we’ll try tomorrow.” (or, if he’s in the “contrary stage” say, “okay, don’t sit on it.” and if he is like Jack he’d jump on it right away!)

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  23. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    sorry… double comment!!

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  24. gloria Avatar
    gloria

    lmao…poor squirrel, he looks like he’s suspicious of your intent, though!!

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  25. Nancy J. Avatar
    Nancy J.

    My two cents on potty training: Poop jar. My son gave it the name, we had a jar full of cheap little toys that he got to pick out of every time he went on the potty. It totally worked, I’m not opposed to bribary! Also he got a piece of candy for pee (potty training gets into very technical terms!) If you want a book I’ve heard that Toilet Training in a day is a miracle worker, I didn’t try it though (just never got around to ordering it), and don’t know who the author is, good luck and be patient! Oh, a chart with stickers is fun too.

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  26. Sarah Jackson Avatar
    Sarah Jackson

    I swear by the naked bottom method – especially now that it’s summer. Commit to being home pretty much all the time for about a week since leaving and having to put on a diaper messes with the routine. Leave his bottom half naked (top half optional). Stay near the potty seat so he has easy access to it. If it’s too far away then he may not make it and get discouraged. It’s okay if it’s in your living room and not in the bathroom, unless you have company coming. We camped out in the family room all day with the last one and that seemed to work fine. You’d be surprised how quickly he will start sitting on the potty if the safety net of the diaper isn’t there. He’ll miss a few times, but if you remind him to sit on the potty pretty regularly, and praise him when everything lands in the right place, then things should move along very well. If he resists, don’t push it. Take a break and try again later.
    Of course, since all kids are different, your mileage may vary. This is what worked for my 3.

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  27. matt Avatar
    matt

    i vote for the poop jar.

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  28. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Once they start asking for a clean diaper, they are ready.
    You have gotten alot of good ideas. I started out with my daughter by having her sit on the potty and reading her a story each morning. The first morning nothing happened. The second morning she peed. It went well from there and it only took about three weeks. It was summer, so I had her in panties and a T-shirt.
    She was only 19 months and loved the freedom of going bare. My husband said, “well, it only took three weeks to potty train her, but how long is it going to take you to get her to wear pants.” It really was cute and funny.
    Have the video camera ready at all times. One time she held her bear over the potty and said, “see it Bea, I did it!”
    Those are such precious memories. She’s 22, now.
    ~elaine~

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  29. Jacy Avatar
    Jacy

    Wow– this makes me really NOT look forward to potty training… and 5 AM wake-ups! I actually was just checking out the parenting section over at the library (National & Overland), and they had the Toilet Training in a Day book. I made a mental note to check it out sometime next year, so make sure you return it for me if you check it out! Have fun at graduation this weekend. Congrats!!

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  30. Kim Avatar
    Kim

    Um, yeah, Matthew is nearly 4 and still not completely potty trained, so I am definitely the WRONG person to ask. So, my advice is to be patient and don’t feel bad if it takes FOREVER because every kid is different, and you will not be the only one. (I hope it doesn’t take forever, but just in case…) His preschool teacher keeps saying, “Don’t worry about it–as long as he gets it before Kindergarten, he’s fine.”
    And bribery is definitely good. Matthew has a sticker chart (a paper with lines drawn on by mom–nothing fancy). Pee is worth one sticker, poop is worth 2. When he fills up the whole chart, we go to WalMart and pick out a new toy. After a while, he’s finally starting to get it. But, like I said, be patient! Kids need to take their own time about these things. You don’t want it to become a point of rebellion. Good luck!

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  31. Island jen Avatar
    Island jen

    oohhhh…welcome to the world of potty training! we went with the no pressure method. Basically if we could catch him going potty, we took him to the bathroom and sat him on the toilet. Pretty soon he was recognizing when he needed to go. He’s also in daycare, and they give the kids an opportunity to try at certain times every day, so he got into a routine. He’s been “officially” potty trained since March, at least that’s when he got a certificate, but we still have accidents. Good luck!

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  32. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    I don’t know if this is advice or not, but I will tell you how potty training my daughter went…
    When she was around 18 months old we asked her pediatrican when we should start potty training her. The doctor said “You can start potty training a child when they are 2 and they will be trained by the time they are 2 1/2. Or you can start potty training a child when they are 2 1/2 and they will be done training when they are 2 1/2.” So we decided to take the no stress method of when she is ready we will know.
    We bought two potty seats (one for upstairs, one for down) and she sat on them when she watched TV and such. Just before she turned 2 1/2, she would sporadically use the potty, but for the most part still needed diapers. When we went to visit my family in California my mother got it into her head that she would have my daughter potty trained in a week. Needless to say there were some words spoken and my daughter left California still in her diapers.
    One morning about a month later, my daughter started taking her diaper off. She thought it was funny that I was fighting to keep it on her. Next morning, she did the same thing. I looked at her and said “Fine. You know where the potty is.” My husband looked at me like I had grown a tail and I said “If she has an accident, I’ll clean it up. It’s like house breaking a puppy.”
    Sure enough my daughter was playing, sans diaper, and all of a sudden she jumped up and ran for the bathroom to use her potty. By the end of the week she was in big girl underpants with no accidents.
    So my advice is just to follow your son’s lead and wait until he is ready. Just prepare yourself for all the comments that everyone is going to make about it. If you can let those go, all of you will do just fine.
    And what a pain about UCLA not giving you your husbands cap and gown! You’re a much better woman than me. I would have threatened someone within an inch of their lives until they just gave it to me. 🙂

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  33. Tami Avatar
    Tami

    Morgan, I had to laugh when I read your post because your Henry and my Alex are about a year apart and we just finally decided this was the week we were going to really potty train. Alex did show signs early but like some of the other posts said- I encouraged it only to make him HATE the potty later! We’ve spent lots of time in the backyard this week and he loves “watering the grass!” A word of caution- we were at the park on Monday and he decided to “water the grass” right next to the playground! Oh, the joys of motherhood!

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  34. happy zombie Avatar
    happy zombie

    Curry Squirrel Salad????
    Congrats on your hubbie’s graduation and poo poo on UCLA for the Cap n Gown thing. A note… pahhhhhhhhhhlezzzzzze!

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  35. Zabrina Avatar
    Zabrina

    I am following you blog since I found it some weeks ago…so nice to be here! I have 2 boys and my little one is almost 3 (September 10) and he started to be interested after I read a book for him about potty time, but he is not really sure yet. Sometimes he will forget it, he will say “I don’t wanna go potty”, but I hope before September he is not wearing diapers anymore.
    Ha, beautiful bird and fabric you chose!

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  36. Suzanne Avatar
    Suzanne

    I agree with two posts I spotted: the naked bottom and potty in the yard – along with the baby pool and sprinkler :)- works well b/c they don’t have to stop playing for long! And, the potty reading material which, by the way, the kids see Mommy and Daddy doing all the time!, works very well. Once Upon a Potty is the best and still a favorite in my house and my two are in college. Mostly, relax and don’t make a big deal of it. Good luck.

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