Potty Training.. In Two Days!

As I mentioned in this earlier post Calleigh is now potty trained. We had tried this before a few weeks back but had little success. This time however it too just two days and was real easy! I couldn't believe it myself, I really expected it to be much harder. Actually when I say she is potty trained, shes not but actually toilet trained.

After talking to some friends whilst out for a few drinks we mentioned that we were planning on starting potty training soon. He told us that he had both his kids potty trained in two days- something I didn't really believe straight away- I can understand one but for both of his kids in just two days seemed a little unreal. 

"How" we asked. 

He explained to us his foolproof method. It was simply to stay in the house for two days straight, don't go out, don't go anywhere for the full two days.... And leave your child completely naked the whole time (not including bedtime). I had my reservations but we decided to give it a go, after all it couldn't hurt to try. I also decided that instead of using a stand alone potty I would use a potty seat on the downstairs toilet. In our previous attempt I found that Calleigh would just not sit still on her potty and always wanted off. I thought this would be better as it would seem more like a toilet than just a seat to sit and eat your dinner on whilst watching telly. 

Well the first day came around, we picked a Thursday as she had no daycare and we didn't have anywhere to go for the whole weekend so we had plenty of time.

After breakfast I stripped her down to her birthday suit, she didn't like it at first and kept asking for the diaper back on but I didn't give in. I explained to her that we were potty training and showed her the toilet with her very own seat, stepping stool and special potty books. The night before I also put together a reward chart and told her she would get a very special sticker to put on it when she goes potty. 

I was feeling pretty good about this. That was until we had the first accident... and then the second. Hope was fading fast and I was left wondering how to get the stains out of my carpet (or the house owners carpet!). But then as I was sat down watching Calleigh play she suddenly ran off really quick. I didn't think much of it, in fact I just thought she had remembered something she wanted to play with. The I heard it, the unmistakable sound of someone on the toilet. I ran in to find Calleigh sat there with a big smile on her facing shouting "I did it!"

We celebrated by singing and dancing and then I gave her a sticker to put on her chart. She loved it and was so happy and excited. 

Finally a success, my faith had been restored. 

Turns out it was just a one off and we had two more accidents that day before we put her in a pull up ready for bed. As much as I was disappointed at least she did it once so she does know what to do and when to go. 

The next morning, once again, after breakfast I stripped Calleigh naked. Paul went off to work and I was left to help Calleigh get her head around this potty training business. 

To my surprise she said to me "Mommy, I need to go wee wee" so I took her to the toilet and she did her business no problem. I was so proud, this day was already going better than the last and it was still early. We celebrated and I let her stick another sticker on her chart. 

Not long after I saw her wander into the bathroom. I went in after her and she was sat there on the toilet. She told me that she need to go poo poo this time... And she did! Once again we celebrated and I sent a celebratory text to Daddy telling him how well she was doing. He replied with a video message congratulating her and she loved it. She would watch it over and over again saying "Thank you, thank you". 

The rest of the day went pretty much the same way, she would either tell me she needed to go or just go by herself and we had absolutely no accidents! Not one! 

As I write this now she has been toilet trained for over a week and we haven't had any accidents since that first day. 

I must admit that this has to be one of my proudest moments as a parent. The transition from diaper to toilet must be difficult for a child but she did amazingly well and in just two days!

I will be doing another post sharing some of my top tips and some things that we found really helpful and that worked for us so that is definitely worth a read if you are thinking of, or already have started potty training. 

Spring Fling Vox Box Review

I was really excited to receive the Spring Fling Vox Box from Influenster. I had heard some great things about it and couldn't wait to find out what was inside! When my box arrived I opened it up straight away and was really happy when I saw what was inside. I received a Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara, Kiss Everlasting French Nails, Nivea Skin Firming Body Lotion, Playtex Sport Fresh Balance and a Peach Pie scented Labor Day Air Freshener. Every product was great and I really enjoyed this box more than the last one (which you can read about here).

My favourite product has to be the Scandaleyes Mascara from Rimmel London. When I first used it I noticed how good the wand was and noticed hardly any clumps on the wand itself which meant no sticking my eyelashes together with big clumps. It covered really well and my eyelashes were bold and flawless!

I loved these Everlasting French nails from Kiss. They were really easy to apply and looked really professional without the price tag! My nails looked gorgeous- the only problem I did have was that I found they didn't stay on very long which was a shame but it wont stop me buying them again.

Also in the box was a small bottle of Nivea Skin Firming Hydration body lotion. I really liked using this and found that after application my skin was really smooth and felt great. After using it for about 2 weeks I need notice an improvement in the firmness of my skin and was really happy with the results. I only wish it was a larger bottle but I will be getting myself some more as its all gone now and I want to see if there is any more continued improvement with longer use.

The Labor Day Peach Pie Car Air Freshener smells really good! I gave it Paul to freshen up his truck. I am still yet to see the Labor Day film, it looks really good but I just don't find the time.

The Playtex Sport Fresh Balance was a nice find in the box. They did their job and I was happy with how well they worked to make me feel fresh and protected.

All in all I really liked this box. All of the items were good and useful and I have managed to find some new favourite products!

Big News

On Thursday last week we took the leap and started toilet training Calleigh and I am so proud to announce that in just 2-3 days she has mastered it and is now officially toilet trained!

Well done Calleigh!

I could not be any happier with how she took to this. I'll admit the first day did not go so well, we had a lot of accidents and it really seemed like this wasn't going to be easy but then the second day she woke up and just amazed me. Every time she just went straight away and did it, even going for a number two didn't phase her! 

I will post a more in depth post on this about how we started and what we did and some tips we found really useful! 

There is still some more training to do, we tried her without the diaper at night but I don't think she is quite there yet. She is quite a heavy sleeper and she just wasn't waking up to go in the night and woke up very wet in the morning. 

She also has trouble going in public toilets. She never had any accidents whilst we were out and did tell me a couple of times that she needed to go for a wee but just couldn't go. She held it in until we got home and then went straight when we got in. 

Look out for my next post for some great tips for potty training in just 2 days!

Outfit of the Month: June

Summer is here and so are pretty butterfly summer dresses! 

Dress: Cherokee at Target

Ballwin Days.

Last Friday after a failed attempt to take my mother to the airport to catch her flight back to England we spent the evening at the Ballwin Days festival. There were rides, games, freebies and a lot of fun things for Calleigh to do. She loved going on the rides and was actually big and brave enough to go on a few on her own. Although her favourite was the balloon ride with Daddy! 

Mee Mee got to enjoy one more surprise evening of fun with us and we got to spend one last night with her- Thanks United! 

Lake of the Ozarks.

After our fun trip to Branson we decided to take another one. It was Memorial Day weekend and there was a great offer on a hotel right on the Lake of the Ozarks- somewhere we have wanted to go for a while now. So of course we booked it and this time for two nights so we had more time to explore!

The drive went well and we got to the hotel in good time. The hotel we stayed at was called Tan-Tar-A and it was a big resort right on the lake with it's own marina and Indoor Water Park!
 After we checked in and dropped our bags off at the room we took a quick walk around the grounds of the hotel before stopping for some dinner in the resorts Big Bear Lodge Restaurant. After dinner we let Calleigh have a pay in the games room and then had a beer on the deck before taking Calleigh to the little in ground park to have a run around.

That night we also rented a golf cart to ride around in for an hour. It was so much fun, even if it did feel like we were going to tip over around every bend!

The first night was great and we even had time to take Calleigh for a quick swim. Unfortunatey didn't get any photo's of that as I didn't take my camera along.

The next day we went out of the resort and had breakfast at Golden Corral and I had an unfortunate encounter with bacon candy (eurgh!). After that we did some shopping at the Osage Beach Outlets.
After that we drove around hoping to see the Ozark Caverns but they were closed so we found somewhere else instead where we stopped for a bit and watched the geese and ducks.

After that we went back to the resort and hung out by the pool for a bit but it was too hot to stay for very long, I could feel myself burning, so we headed back to the room and got changed ready for the firework display.
We decided to watch the fireworks from the deck of the Big Bear Lodge which was a great idea as it was practically empty and we got there nice and early so had plenty of time to play!

Calleigh didn't stay for too long for the fireworks, the bangs still frighten her a little bit so she went to the games room with Daddy. The show was amazing and it was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!