Because I don't think it's possible to avoid this subject for the next ten years

So I vowed not to ever blog in detail about potty training. Because no one wants to hear about that. But unfortunately I am about to do just that. You've been warned. In my defense, when that's all you're trying to get your kid to think about all day, it starts to be all you're thinking about too.

Madeline has been rather fickle about potty training, We've been trying off and on for the past year to gauge her interest and jump on any enthusiasm for the project. She usually gets excited about it for a day or two, sits on the toilet a lot for a few days, has one or two successes, and then loses interest. I try to force her to keep going for a few days, and then lose patience and decide to give her a few weeks breather and try again later. Repeat every month.

Jessie has been rather excited about the project. No doubt if he was the one home all day with her, she'd have been fully potty trained three months ago through sheer force of will. Unfortunately he has this job he has to go to, so he comes up with these briliiant plans and leaves me to instigate them. So far we have tried sticker charts, presents when she succeeds, picking out and wearing princess panties, and denying her access to the iPad unless she uses the bathroom. She lost interest in the stickers and cries if we don't pick the right one or if we don't put it on her shirt. She got two presents and then lost interest in that. She liked wearing panties and gathered enough of the idea to go to the same spot in the kitchen to do her business. Then she asked for new panties, until we ran out. We thought the iPad would do it but she's been on strike and decided sitting on the toilet wasn't worth the privilege.

We've kind of been at an impasse. The today, after listening to the entire Rapunzal CD for the hundreth time this week (Thanks Grandma! I'm getting your son a bb gun for Valentine's day!), I decided to get rid of it permanently, using my daughter's own stubborness against her. I told her that we could only listen to Tangled if she was sitting on the potty. Then I prepared to put the cd on top of the fridge with the iPod and her pile of presents.

Surprise. She's been sitting on the potty for over half an hour singing "i've Got a Dream" and yelling "What's going to happen to the princess?!". And somehow even though this is supposed to be a victory for me, I feel like I've been duped.

Someday, ther will be no more potty training. And I'm going to buy myself some presents and give myself a whole booklet of stickers to celebrate.