[ Posted by Maggie
Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:28:31 GMT ]
I said I would be posting cute things about Hannah too. So before I shut down I wanted to tell you about her new thing. We use the timer for potty time, it either is used for how long she HAS to sit, or how long she GETS to sit. The gets to sit comes at bed time. Well sometimes we’ll give her more minutes after the timer goes off because she’s in the middle of business or hasn’t quite gone yet and we want to make sure she’s done. She’s now learned what the timer is and if she doesn’t want to get up when the timer goes off she points to it and says “mo’ minutes.” It’s quite cute.
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[ Posted by Maggie
Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:52:42 GMT ]
Welcome to Maggie’s blog. :) (Maybe I’ll come up with something more creative later.) I have decided to start a blog for a few reasons.
1. To write down and remember all the little things, that I know I’ll forget. Like the new word Hannah said today, or the new way I cleaned the bathroom that took half the time.
2. To let our family and friends that are far away be better connected to us. We love you all so much and don’t want you to miss out on these little things either!
3. To share what the Lord is teaching me and my prayer is that He may teach you something too, through me. My desire is to grow more in Him and to glorify Him with my life.
So here starts my first post. Potty Training. I know, couldn’t I have chosen a more interesting topic? Well this is what is going on in our lives right now and this is what the Lord is using to teach me right now, so I am sorry but you will have to bear with me.
So our potty training adventure started last September, with the book “Potty Training in Less Than a Day”. Good book, has worked for many people, many people I’ve known even, well not for my little girl. She just wasn’t ready for this method and I was loosing my hair. Literally, my hair dresser asked me if there was anything stressful going on in my life because I was losing a lot of hair. So we then backed off and last week when I got my hair cut my hair dresser commented on how much my hair has improved. :) Well after several months of trying this and that and mainly using Pull Ups and only really being successful right before bed time (it was routine and a way for her to stay up later, so she didn’t fight it) we’ve decided to crack down. We have not used Pull Ups at home for several days now, and Hannah is doing pretty well. But she occasionally has this notion that this is her choice. I’ll set her on the potty and she won’t go and then 5 minutes later she has an accident. She did this all weekend when we were at a friend’s house and she was in Pull Ups.
So yesterday and today I was really getting discouraged. I was seeing my daughter’s defiance and at a loss as to what to do. Well after talking about it with my dear husband last night he suggested I talked some of our godly women at church. So this morning I sent out an e-mail asking for prayer and then gave the details and asked for help. I also remembered James 1:5 and asked God for wisdom, expecting it to be given to me. Well a dear friend read my e-mail and gave me a call. This wonderful woman gently suggested that maybe the problem was our lack of consistency in the past (she would know because I have gone to her with many of my trials) and suggested persevering and not turning back. She also knows my daughter well and knows how strong willed she can be especially when she does not know what to expect. Well Hannah is asleep now and I have talked to John and we will not be using Pull Ups any more (anyone want them?), and we pray that Hannah will quickly learn that this is the way it will be.
I have learned several things in this.
1. God is faithful to His Word (I knew it before, but always a good reminder)
2. Consistency is so important with all aspects of parenting. I find this over and over again with Hannah. When I am consistent in what I expect of her and following through with biblical discipline she is a joy to be around, but when I am not (unfortunately more often I am not) she pushes every limit just to see what she can get away with and often by the end of the day we are both frustrated and nothing was accomplished. A schedule helps too. :)
3. I need to be relying on Him more. I need to be in His Word and obeying it. I fear that part of my frustration in this endeavor was due to my relying on my own strength. How often do I do this. But I need to remember that “I can do all things through Him, who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13
I hope you have enjoyed my first blog. I hope to return often to share my life with you.
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