Potty Training

I HATE potty training! Until I started potty training Thomas, I thought I was a great mom. My dreams were crushed as I realized everything is not as easily conquered as I had hoped! Potty training is one of the most difficult things I have faced as a parent so far. When Chase was born, we had 3 in diapers even after trying to train Thomas for a while. I tried every method there was. The fact of the matter is - you just can't make a child urinate or poop on command. They are ultimately in control. In Mary Frances' case, it was one thing she could control no matter what I did. So, she just decided it would be when she was ready. She knew what to do for a year but chose not to as part of her strong will. She finally decided she was ready when her cousin, Abigail, loaned her some Ariel panties and called to check on her. Ray C. says that he potty-trained her while I was away for the weekend. Normally, I love to give him the credit and brag on him as a hubby and daddy, but after working on this for over a year, I refuse to give him the credit for finishing the job. Thanks, honey! We can share the credit, but I can't just give it away after all of my frustrations over it!!!! You're still an awesome husband, and I am grateful for the work you put into the project!!

So, I've come to Chase. We now have 2 children trained. A few months ago, I decided I was not going to train Chase; I've realized it isn't up to me. He will do it when he is ready, and he has 2 older siblings to watch. So, I told Thomas he was in charge of potty training Chase, and that I would not interfere. He replied, "Thank you, mommy!" You are more than welcome baby!!

HOWEVER, Chase loves the potty. He is ready to learn, and I don't feel like I should waste the opportunity even though I have no desire to potty train. I keep telling Thomas to take him to the potty with him and show him how to do it! He does some, but I think I'm going to have to step in! I believe this will be a family effort. Thomas and Mary Frances will probably do more than I can. So, today, we broke out the Diego and Spider Man undies!! The 2-3T size is huge on his little behind, but they don't make them smaller! It's 9:00 a.m. and we've already been through 3 pair, but the kids are having fun. I wouldn't call it fun - more like torture. It makes so much laundry - and that's just the clothes. I also have to clean the floor where he was standing, wash out the undies in the potty, and keep the kids out of the mess while I'm cleaning it up. But I'm surviving. I don't expect he'll stay in the underwear all day, but he is doing good. Yesterday he went pee pee and poopy in the potty, and he was so proud of himself.

Well, say a prayer for me as I train this last one and move on to the next stage in life! For those of you who are wondering - No, I am not sad. I will be so happy to say goodbye to Pampers, Luvs, and Huggies. I have better things to spend my money on - like camp for the kids!!!! I've been stuck in this stage for a long time and I am ready to move on. We are having fun, but good things are waiting in our future!

"Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"

Would You Lick the Bathroom Floor?

I had just hung up the cell phone after talking to my mom, last week, when I looked back and saw Thomas chewing on his shoe. Thomas is 4 1/2. He knows not to do that. So, I said, "Thomas, take that out of your mouth. That is disgusting! Didn't you just go to the potty at the store back there?" He replied, "Yes!" So to that I said, "Would you lick that nasty bathroom floor?" Of course he wouldn't (while I was watching, anyway)! "Chewing on your shoe after walking on the bathroom floor is the same as licking the floor! Doesn't that sound gross? As I was saying that, I looked at my cell phone and realized I had accidentally called someone during the conversation and they were listening. I was mortified to say "hello" and discover who I'd called. I said, "Helloooo?" My mom said, "You tell that boy he better not be licking any bathroom floors!!" Whew!!! I was so glad it was my mom! She had heard the entire conversation and was dying laughing! It was just another ordinary conversation in my world, but I'm glad my mom got to be a part of it!

New Toothpaste?

Quiet time was a lot of fun for the kids today! I took a nap with Chase, and mama took a nap in her room so she would be close to the kids and could hear them if they needed her! She must not have heard them. It sounds bad writing it down, but they were safe, I promise!! But they did have fun! When I woke up, Mary Frances took me to the bathroom and said, "look in the tub mommy." I was nervous. So, I looked in and found some sort of tube with white stuff all over the tub and all over her toothbrush. As I was picking up the bottle to see what it was Mary Frances said, "I tried brushing my teeth with it, but it didn't taste very good." IT WAS VAGISIL!!! There is nothing else to say!

Thomas, Mary Frances, and Chase

We went to Honey and Grandaddy's church this morning! We took them into "Big Church" to see what a BIG church was like since they are mostly only familiar with our little island church. They were so impressed. They couldn't believe it when I told them that our new church is even bigger than Honey and Grandaddy's. They are so excited! We only stayed about 15 minutes, but they enjoyed the music. Chase was confused why daddy wasn't there. I think he understood the correlation between our church and theirs. He kept saying "da-da" during the prayer looking around for him! We missed daddy too! He is on his way to a church-planters conference in Orlando!

Princess Poopy

I was reminded this week of something Mary Frances told me over a year ago. She was 2!! We were reading several books about potty-ing: "Once Upon a Potty" and "Everyone Poops." So, it was just on our minds! :) I asked her one day, "Mary Frances, what color poopy do you think a Princess has?" Her immediate response was "Pink" of course. What other color would it be? Mary Frances is a very girly girl. She tells everyone that pink is her favorite color. She loves to wear dresses and will twirl for anyone who comments on her dress. It is so much fun having a girly girl in between two true BOYS!!

Houston Bound

We're moving to Houston!!!! We are so excited! God has been preparing us to plant a new church for a while now. We've been praying about where, when, and what, but we did not have any specifics. We just knew that's what God was calling us to do! However, we assumed it would be in Florida - the conference in which we have rooted ourselves. Well, imagine our surprise when a friend from Houston called to offer Ray C. a job. We will be planting a new campus of Foundry United Methodist Church in a new development. God has been so good to us through this process. I have no doubt he will continue to see us through. Watch out Houston, the Hughes clan is moving in!!

CAT?

Haven't seen the cat lately! I think the kids scared him away!

The Story of Life

As we were returning to the car from lunch today, Thomas, my 4 year old, said, "Mommy, I'm feeling like this story is never going to end!" I asked him what story he was talking about, and he said, "our story." I said, "You mean the story that we live in?" That is exactly what he meant! What an incredible thought for a 4 year old. I know my husband was thinking, "There's a sermon in that for sure!"

Really, though, isn't it an interesting thought to think of ourselves as characters in a story where we affect the outcome? Thomas wanted to know when the story would end, and I explained that it wouldn't end until we die and go to heaven. Then I realized this was a teachable moment! Actually, if we love God and try really hard to tell others about him and do good things for Him, then hopefully our story won't end when we die. We talked about that for a minute and he decided he didn't want to share his story. He wants to take it with him to Heaven! Oh well, it was a great conversation! Who says you can't have adult conversations when you're only surrounded by preschoolers!?!