Potty training Ellia, Patience training mommy

So today completed day 12 of our potty training adventure. What a ride... that we are still on I might add. Now I gave this a shot back about 8 months ago and saw pretty quickly that Ellia just wasnt ready. So we hung it up for a while to revisit when she was a little older. Deciding I'd like to have the task mastered by her third birthday, and not knowing the extend of the undertaking, I settled on starting now... well sept 8th to be exact. This time... I went all out. I was prepared to the max. Stocked with panties & had the bathroom practically looking like a princess playroom. Rather than the thought of having to train twice, I opted for the actual seat on the big potty vs. the personal mini potty we tried before. Of course, it is pink and has every disney princess character sitting along with her. On the wall is a princess potty chart where she can personally check if she has pulled her own pants, sat for a while, flushed, washed hands, and actually put something in. She got to mark with a little marker each of the flower checks and actually put a sticker when she went. How exciting. The bathroom was also furnished with a stack of favorite books and a special potty prize box. Here's where the bribing gets fun... we had cookies, brownie bites, stickers, dumdums, peanut butter m&ms, smarties, silly bands, etc. etc. all of her favorite things. Since I'm not going to bore you with a play-by-play of all the days happenings... I'll add that after a few days in, I realized we were going to need a little more incentive (especially in the #2 category). So we changed things up... the box now became the PeePee Prize Box and enter... the PoopyPrize Bag. Here we had things like new dora panties, a dora shirt, princess pens, big Reese's cup, gold chocolate coins, etc. a little bigger on the these prizes, hoping for some extra performance in this area. Lets fast forward...

This has truly been one of the most challenging things I've had to do. Next to labor, I've never been more physically and mentally drained at the end of the day (only to have to get up the next morning to do it again). I've spent most of the past 12 days sitting on the bathroom floor, reading, singing, pleading... Peter and I agree it has been like coaching our daughter through labor - every. single. day. not to mention the countless accidents in less-than-ideal places. i mean, im a full-out, trained & experienced janitor... put it on the resume! And if that wasnt enough, lets not forget I've got another little one to tend to - who I don't particularly like neglecting. Plus, (as if i needed one), I'm not particularly a home-body. I love taking the girls out, even just to the grocery, walks, wherever - just to get out of the house for a little while. Most days, we leave at some point. Well... like a huge chain tied to my ankle, while the walls close in around us, we've been stuck at home unable to leave.
Though I've wanted to scream, cry, tear my hair out, sit in the corner rocking, be admitted, and maybe check out a cliff or two, I must say that its all been for the best. We've just started a study on Philippians. In the first chapter, as Paul writes from home-bound imprisonment, he has an attitude totally unexpected. Because of his new life in Christ, his circumstances have taken on new meaning. It's no longer about him... its about Christ. ("Hey! Im not chained to them... they're chained to me! They've gotta listen to me gab about the gospel all day so all this is really only good... its been to the betterment of furthering the kingdom). God has allowed these circumstances for His glory... and because of them, I have become more mighty in the Spirit than ever before.
I can totally relate to Paul here... home-bound, chained to my circumstances that are pushing me to my limit. Having to realize, its not about me... its about Christ. These circumstances have been used to make me mightier in the Spirit, more patient and more apt to rely on the Spirit as my strength rather than myself. Hallelujah. What amazing freedom. What's even better... that truth applies no matter what circumstances I face. Its about Him, not about me.

So... no, we are not done potty training... we haven't arrived. But yes, we are making wonderful progress - Ellia on the potty and me in the Spirit.


come on - shes a really cute panty princess...