Enjoying an Early Spring!!!

I love letting fresh air in the house. This time of year always makes me happy.

We have been outside at nearly every chance.

Kids go to school, twins and I go outside, we pick Cam up from school, eat lunch outside, come in at 1:00 for a nap, and back out at 3:30 when the girls wake the house up, and out until dinner. That's been our life for the last week : )

We went out Tuesday night after dinner, but the mosquitoes were out ALREADY. Just doesn't seem right to have mosquito bites in March.

I love doing yard work. It feels like a workout, design and therapy all in one.

I didn't know what I'd do this year. This isn't technically my yard. I wasn't sure how far I should go. But I got going and suddenly I had 9 yard waste bags filled with trimmed branches and raked leaves.

We were lucky to get a big yard filled with trees, bushes and lots of bulbs peeking through the ground.

I was only going to trim a little, but I believe people should be able to walk down the sidewalk without ducking, and I should be able to mow the grass without being taken out by a tree branch.

So I clipped away at the trees, while the boys played around the yard.

I took out a lot. I think the people that own the home liked planting trees and bushes, just never took care of them. So I just brought them back to "reality".

It was strangely satisfying to me. I'm so glad I did it and didn't leave it to go wild and crazy. It would have bothered me all summer.

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So, my project of the day . . . potty training.

I've been reading tips on potty training.

I've done this before, but never with two at a time. I have been losing the battle for months. I didn't find any special tips for twins. So I read and took notes on what might work for me and the boys.

KC was home today, and will be tomorrow, so I figured that we'd give it a 2-day intense go at this. And then I have the weekend to reinforce everything and nowhere really to go.

The girls left for school, KC took Cameron to school and I put the twins on the potty.

I used Castiel against Emmitt to make him comply :)  Castiel can be reasoned with and talked into things so much easier than Emmitt. I told Castiel that he could pick a piece of candy if he would sit on the potty. And that's all it took.

Of course, Emmitt wanted candy too, so up on the potty he went  :)

I hate the little portable potty, but with two, I just had too.

After neither of them going potty for 10 minutes, I took them off and put "big boy" underwear on. Emmitt has "Thomas the Train" and Castiel has "Mickey Mouse" undies.

They are twins, and there are many things that they share, this will not be one of them......

I tried to explain to them that they shouldn't pee on Thomas and Mickey, so they had to tell mommy if they had to go.

I did 10 minute intervals on the potty, and 15 minutes off.

So after 15 minutes, they were back on.

And nothing.

15 more minutes, back on.

Success with Emmitt, and nothing from Castiel.

And during this time I was pumping them full of Apple Juice, so they had to pee at some point.

We spent the entire day playing in the kitchen, so much easier to clean up.

And pee they did.

About one minute before the putting Castiel back on . . . all over the kitchen floor.

Shoot, one minute!

We continued all morning, finally about the sixth time Castiel peed while he was on the potty . . . shot 3 feet across the room and hit the wall.

Couldn't get mad at him . . . he went potty, while he was on the potty and he got rewarded just the same and cheered for.

They went through seven undies in three hours, but seriously, by nap time they both went potty relatively quickly, at the same time.

The only worry I had was Emmitt hadn't pooped all morning, Castiel did on the potty and was rewarded with a Girl Scout cookie.

Emmitt was peeved by this, but not persuaded.

I did put diapers on them at nap time . . . I just don't have enough time in the day. I was already looking at the task of disinfecting the bathroom, kitchen floor, doing a load of laundry and taking a shower during their nap. I caved there and will continue to until they show more bladder control.

Emmitt, of course, pooped within minutes of the diaper being put on. Oh well, can't win them all.

They slept, I cleaned up.

Then it started all over again around 3:00. Castiel woke, put him on the potty and he pooped. Emmitt woke up completely dry, put him on and he peed.

YAY!

They had been walking around in just their undies all day, it made potty time so much easier.

They came downstairs and right outside, because that's where daddy and Cameron were playing. Emmitt came in to put his shoes on and then so did Cas. It made me cringe. We are new to the neighborhood, and I didn't want to be marked as "those people", we are already "those people with 5 kids"  :)

So I put pants on them and continued to ask "Do you have to go potty?" I think I said it a thousand times today.

They played outside and stayed dry. I was finishing up dinner and asked KC to bring them in to go potty before dinner. Castiel walked in the bathroom, sat down on the potty and went . . . . . only he forgot to pull down his pants. But again, he went while he was on the potty.

They both only had only one undie casualty this evening, so I consider that progress.

I'm just waiting to hear, "Mommy, I have to go potty", oh how I wish to hear that . . . soon.

It was so cute watching them walk around in their undies today.

What cute little bums : )