Especially for Rachel

We have been watching our 2 1/2 year old niece Reese for the past week.  This has been the first time Rachel has left her with someone besides her husband....and the first time for more than a day.  Rachel, I feel badly that I haven't posted these earlier (the next post will explain why), but hopefully this will help tide you over until you see her on Saturday.

The Toilet Monster

I consider myself a mom that doesn't get overly worried about the quirks of my children.  However, when that quirk starts to disrupt my day, I can get annoyed.  

Benjamin has been potty trained for over a year now.   I never have to think about it.  When he has to go, he just does his thing.  Two weeks ago, the boys' toilet overflowed....not a big deal....just the get the plunger and fix it. 

 However, this event seemed to scar Ben for life.  The next morning he complained that his stomach hurt.  Come to find out, he had been holding it until absolutely the last second.  He just didn't want to go for fear of the toilet overflowing.  He calls me in to stand there to watch him, then I have to flush it as he runs out of the room in a panic.  Part of the problem is that he thinks that when the water fills back up, it will never stop.  I have tried everything I can think of to get him over this fear.  

-  I've explained to him that only big stinky boys make toilets overflow.  

-  I've told him that it will only happen if a ton of toilet paper gets flushed. 

-  I've made him watch it while I flush so he can see it go down.  

-  I've tried to put enough paper in it to make it stop up, then plunging it down so he can see how the plunger works.

-  I've even tried tough love by making him flush it.  

I'm going mad!  Who knew that the toilet could be such a scary thing?

Baby Steps

I found this great website called FoodStorageMadeEasy.com. It is an amazing website that helps so much with not only getting your food storage together but in using it as well. 

They have what they call "Baby Steps" that help you get it together without completely overwhelming yourself. We've been pretty organized regarding our food storage through the years (definitely not by my doing....gotta know Taylor to understand), but they make it even easier to figure things out.  If you're trying to get your food storage together, or even if you're just trying to figure out better ways to use your food storage, you really should check it out.

THE Binder