Mama Loves: Magic and Toothbrushes

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!


_________________________________________________________________________________
It was so much fun to read all your pumpkin-themed posts last week!

• My sweet husband carved a pumpkin with our girls. They had so much fun!

• Super cute pumpkin patch fun with Emily's girls Haley and Hazel!
• Pumpkin patch tradition! Mandy takes a walk down memory lane with her sweet girls A&B.
• Join Melissa's twins (and a few of their friends) for a pumpkin party! What a fabulous idea!
• Pumpkin pirate! (Our family has quite an affinity for pirates---this pumpkin is awesome, Krista!

_________________________________________________________________________________
I'm really excited about this week's Mama Loves. I'd like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine, Laila. Here she is with her beautiful family---her husband, Mike and her almost-two-year-old daughter, Nori:

source Anne Mentrup Photography

Laila is my running partner and one of my boot camp instructors, more importantly, she's one of the most intentional, loving, and generous people I've ever met. She balances work and family and friendships with such grace. I'm so blessed that she lives right across the street from me, and that I can count her one of my dearest friends.

Last week Laila emailed me with a couple of her Mama Loves, and I figured there was no one better to tell you about them than Laila herself. So, here's Laila in her blogging debut giving you two fabulous "loves":

The Jane Iredale Magic Mitt is a cloth that cleanses your face with only water---it even takes off eye makeup! For whatever reason (because I chase a toddler most days) I'm exhausted when it comes to bedtime, even the thought of washing my face is a huge chore.

This little shammie makes taking off makeup quick, so that I can get to bed...where the real magic happens. LOL :)



We have literally brushed Nori's gums since she was six months old, and it's been a struggle every day since. Every night we have the same routine, which includes brushing teeth, so I just assumed it would eventually get easier, but it never has. It takes both Mike and I to get her brushed; he holds her down, while I scrub as best I can.

Until now...the kids' electric toothbrush!

It seems so simple, but I never considered it for a kid. Now, Nori gets so excited---"me do!"--because she can brush her teeth on her own. And I'm thrilled, because I know when she puts the toothbrush in her mouth, her teeth are getting cleaned better than when I was struggling to do it manually.



These toothbrushes come in just about any character, so maybe that can be an added incentive to have "Dora" help them brush their teeth.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Laila, thank you again for sharing your Mama Loves here.

Can't wait to see what you're loving this week!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

Mama Loves: Pumpkins

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!


________________________________________________________________________________
A couple things to check out this week 

• Bath products for Mama and little ones that are free of all those yucky chemicals that Blogger won't acknowledge as real words. 
• Sippy cups that absolutely don't leak. Your search is over!

_______________________________________________________________________________
Spring is my favorite time of year, followed closely by fall. This is odd when I take a moment to think about it, because they're the two transition seasons. Ushering in the warm, or ushering the cold.

Transition is hard. But I can do hard things; even embrace them sometimes---like two little ladies I know. And, the fall too. Mostly, because fall = pumpkins.

I love all things pumpkin.

Last Saturday we took our girlies for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. I'm such a sucker for comparison shots. We were taking the girls to "pick out their  pumpkins" when they were tiny. Sometimes I build up these experiences in my mind, knowing that really, really they're too young to get it, but there will be pictures that we did it every. single. year.

  Last year, the girls had a whole lot more input in their pumpkin choosing experience.

And this year was a whole lot of fun! The girls went tromping through the pumpkin fields like experts.

But first, I just have to show you one thing. The girls were so excited to be sporting their new owl leg warmers:

Now, on to pumpkins.

This year the girls really liked big pumpkins:

So, our rule was that they needed to be able to lift the pumpkin (at least a little bit).

 

The girls had a great time running around the pumpkin fields. It was so fun to watch their strong legs carry them all the way to the end of the pumpkin fields. 

The girls rested briefly in the wagon with their pumpkins:

 But, our strong healthy girls preferred to help their papa secure their pumpkin loot:

We ended our pumpkin patch experience dancing to some bluegrass music. Brynne and Hadley had such a great time! Their carefree delight in pumpkins and music and dancing makes me smile till my face hurts.

So, let's see your pumpkin pictures, Mamas (and Papas)! Pumpkin carving, visits to the pumpkin patch, or just drinking a pumpkin spice latte. Any and all things pumpkin are welcome!

Can't wait to see them!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

Mama Loves: Potty Talk

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!

 
________________________________________________________________________________

So, you might have heard, our girls are potty trained.

I'm not about to tell you that there is some magic formula that will get your kid potty trained. I don't think that's true. Each child is unique, and you know your child better than anyone else. While I tend to be a rule follower in some respects, when it came to potty training, I tried to be intuitive to what would work best for each one of my daughters' personalities. 

The method I based our training on was called the Three Day Potty Training method. You can read all sorts of testimonials and questions about it. Take it for what it's worth. I enjoyed the plan, because it was a short----no books to read, just an e-book, more like an e-pamphlet. Short and sweet. 

 

I also appreciated the detailed instructions, tips and even products to consider purchasing. For what it's worth, these are the products we loved to get us through the hard stuff. (Most of them are also mentioned here).

• GoodNites Disposable Bed Mats. Keeps down the laundry pile by protecting sheets while they sleep.
• BabyLegs to keep little legs warm.
• Baby Bjorn Toilet Trainer to make the big potty just right for little bottoms.
• This alarm clock that turns green when it's okay to wake up for the day. Worth.Every.Penny!

What would you add to the list? 

Can't wait to see what you're loving this week!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

Adventures in Potty Training

So. The girls are potty trained. Like, all the way potty trained. Nights and everything.

I think the whole process took 13 years off my life, but it's done, and I'm so proud of how well the girls are doing with it!

I really hesitated on whether or not to potty train them. We're still trying to sell the house, and then there's the baby. Both events, I've heard, can cause serious regression. I didn't want to have to clean up messes in a new house as we get settled, or with a newborn.

In the end, I decided that there was never going to be an "ideal" time to get this potty training thing done, so why not now?

I have many bloggy and real life friends, who have gone before me, so I had all kinds of resources/methods/plans/advice to read and listen to. Most recently I'd been reading B's advice over at little grovers about potty training her twin boys. She used this three-day method that sounded intriguing to me. She emailed me some encouragement, and references, and we decided we'd take the plunge.

So, here's the thing with this plan---you get rid of all diapers day one.

Yes, you read that right. 

So, on Monday when my husband called around 11 to ask what the accident count was---we were at 18. He called me back to say he was coming home early and was taking the next day off.

Love him!

So. With the three-day method, with twins it can take a day or two longer, and this proved to be true with our girls. Day four they finally (sorta) got the hang of things, and by day five they really had it down. Whew!

So, I wanted to share a few things I found helpful/encouraging/surprising. Maybe you'll find it beneficial if you're somewhere in the process, or just thinking about it.

• Probably the most surprising thing for me was the "freak out" factor the girls experienced. There were several moments during those first couple of days where they were both crying and clinging to me (at the same time). Taking away their diapers and suddenly giving them the responsibility of figuring out what was going on with their bodies was really stressful for them. I wasn't prepared for it at all. There were many times when I came very close to putting diapers back on both of them and calling it quits. It was hard. 

• The other big thing I wasn't prepared for was the nights. We went from sometimes soaking through overnight diapers to wearing big-girl undies in one day. So, nights for the first week---it was like having newborns all over again. They were up multiple times a night. We were exhausted! The waking proved to be inevitable, but something we used to help cut down on laundry were GoodNights Disposable Bed Mats. They cover approximately 75% of a crib mattress, so chances are good that they'll catch the mess. They're a little pricey, but worth it!

• The plan recommends that you get 20-30 pairs of underwear per child to start out with, because of the large number of accidents (and no diapers). I aspired to do lots of laundry, and went with 36 pairs for both girls. I got half in their actual size, and half in a bigger size. I only used the bigger size for a the first several days until the girls got the hang of things, then I packed them away for future use.

• Wood floors/tile/linoleum/laminate are your friends! Easier clean up. Find activities to keep your kiddo(s) on those surfaces as much as possible. For example: my friend has a big window in her tiled dining area, so she got her daughter some window clings to keep her on the tile.

• This particular plan also suggests that the kiddos just wear undies and a tee-shirt for the first few days. We added some BabyLegs on cool mornings for some extra warmth.

• Something that we're dealing with right now is that Brynne will only go potty on the little potty. The big potty intimidates her a bit. In fact, I bought and donated a little potty to our church, because she had a couple accidents there, refusing to use the big potty. So, in addition to having a little potty, or maybe instead of (??) I recommend getting something like this:

That way maybe you can avoid our "fear of the big potty" struggles. It sits on top of the big potty, so that their little bottoms don't fall through. I'd also recommend getting some sort of a step-stool to go along with it. That way they can go by themselves. Hadley loves the independence of being able to do it "All by myself."

• Another thing I wasn't prepared for was the manipulation factor. And this I still haven't figured out all the way, though it does seem to be better. The "I have to go potty!" (even though they just went two minutes ago) thing that only happens at bedtime, or when they really don't want to do something like clean up, etc. I've had to get creative with discipline and distractions to keep them from playing that card. It's tough, because I don't want to call them liars, and they can usually squeeze a drop, just to prove that they really did have to go---at the same time, it gets really ridiculous sometimes. If you have any advice, experienced mamas----please help!

• Along with nighttime, the girls started getting up super early to go to potty. I mean really early (!!!), and they'd think it was time to party for the day. My friend Mandy has raved about the "Ok to Wake!" alarm clock, and since then I've heard several others sing its praises. I'll tell you, I didn't blink once at spending the money on that little gem. When the girls get up super early to potty, they know they have to get back in bed until the clock turns green (which means it's okay to get up!). Hallelujah---love this guy!

Okay. So, there you have it. Anything I missed, veterans? Anything you want to know, mamas who aren't there yet?

UPDATED: I knew there was more! My friend (the smart one with the tile and window clings), brought me a meal one night when the hubby wasn't home. This was a huge, wonderful thing she did, because that way I could concentrate on the girls, and not have to stop to prepare a meal. Highly recommend you prepare some meals ahead of time, or have a friend bring you a meal. Potty training is intense, and requires a lot of your attention. 

Also, if you do need to leave the house, disposable changing pads work great to protect car seats. They also keep your high chairs nice and dry. 

Mama Loves: Kate Winslet??

Hi friends! There were a few great ideas shared this past week. I hope you'll take a moment to check them out!

• Krista adapted a popular toddler activity to make it easy to take on the go. 
• Mandy has found a great alternative to crumbly play-doh! If you strongly dislike the play-doh mess, you're gonna want to check this out!

________________________________________________________________________________
A couple days ago, Mandy shared this "fabulous-ness" (in quotes because blogger won't acknowledge this as a real word---come on, blogger!) on her facebook page. 

Mama love, Love, LOVES this!

It's true. Our bodies are pretty incredible. They were carefully and uniquely knit together in our mama's womb, and they do many things. Maybe:

• your body carried and nourished your child(ren)
• your strong legs carry you miles towards a finish line
• your capable arms swing your little ones over your head and hug them tight
• your sparkling eyes look on others with love
• your hands serve others by cooking meals, folding laundry, cleaning
• your voice reads the same story a million times putting the same enthusiasm into every.single.word. the same way every time
• your smile lights up a room
• your mind creates beautiful things
• your heart loves unceasingly and unconditionally (and will go on and on--ha!)
• your hips shut drawers when your hands are full and know how to keep rhythm
• your feet take you and your child(ren) on grand adventures

So, tell me. What do you love about your body? Do you talk about this with your children, or with your friends or family? What does this look like? 

Can't wait to see what you're loving! Oh, and you're welcome for putting Celine Dion in your head on this fine fall afternoon.

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.