Potty Training My 20 Month old

This is My project Life page How adorable is that OMG !! Soo this is what I have been up to this past month. While I was trying to become an accomplished blogger my daughter decide she no longer required Diapers!! Seriously Outta the blue just didn't want them Anymore you should have been there for this discussion.. NO DIAPER MAMA PANTIES Right :/ 

OKay so Anyone ready for a Total Flash Back !! potty training for Julia okay the idea was introduced to my daughter when she was 6 months WHY because I heard of the diaper free movement that is Elimination Communication !! and I had cloth diapers and OMG !! anything is better the hosing off a cloth diaper !! Even if that thing is running a non crawling non verbal infant to a toilet !! specifically when the real food got in her digestive track cause lets be honest Breast milk poo barely requires a rinse her new solid carrot poos began to carrot stain my diapers requiring sunning and other things that had just not come up they got a fowl odor BTW RLR or something like that need to get the name from my friend but GOD SEND

Sooo Then Ultimately My stubbornness of not wanting to give up the cloth diapers I had so preciously Envied I said OKAY I'll EC my INFANT this is then not taken well by my immediate circle of people in my life who think I will ultimately scar my infant from the toilet and she will not potty train till kindergarten due to TOILET Harassment >.< But that was a risk I was willing to take ...

HAHA okay Soo First day with the toilet We actually did pretty good !! and I was impressed with myself we ECed for several  months with no problem until one day .... She started walking -_- Okay don't get me wrong I was super happy my child was walking I would assume she was 11 month but OMG now I could not get my child to sit on the toilet it was a battle would not hoover would not sit alone could not give her anything to get her to sit she didn't want to sit would not have it  This is ultimatly when me and my relationship with my cloth diapers KINDA ended -_- it was a good run cloth diapers but YEAH SO we basically became the family who had cloth used cloth and left cloth in the dust there for a minute ... Personally I think if anything is that big of a head ache and has ruined your lifestyle to that much of a point its really not worth doing .... Flash forward I would assume a little before Christmas really My daughter then Decided or okay I thought she decided that she wanted to be toilet training again there was some EC there was hits there were misses but then again she fell outta interest Toddlers are SUPER FLAKY Turns out or maybe she all of a sudden became more Verbal !! 

Soo That was it I gave up I swear you can call my friend I said I'll just potty train her when she is 2 That's is she obviously does not want to be Potty trained and I gave up the ghost. I have this big trip to Jersey to visit my friend it will be easier if she is in diapers anyway... this is what I tell you I was done had it  -_- I SH!T you not the next week she was ready to be potty trained ....(face-Palm) only my child when I had truly gave up on the prospect of toilet training would come back with no panties mom -_- Your joking 

Of course her Daddy was home that Day so We Made A day of it !! why not honestly when you have a toddler you have to celebrate the small things to keep your sense of humor (especially the stay at home moms )  !! And Why not  !! because who likes Diapers #NOTIT !! So We went to the Local Target I do love Target her first pick was Minnie mouse which of course they only had in 4T how dare they !! Soo Next PICK !! My Little Ponies !! cause we all know there awesome !! Seriously the remake of MLP has just not disappointed in my book

So we get home and we have few accidents ... I mean very few most not even being a big accident ultimately she would wee a little in her panties and would then realize oh I should have gone ... and this was rare that she didn't just say TI-TI MAMA!! which btw is adorable and she even did the TINKLE Dance that all the kids do and I don't care who you are that Is just adorable !! really is !! Which after a successful potty trip she gets a "Tinkle Treat" a.k.a  M&M I know food is not a good reward system but honestly I can't afford to buy a special toy for every piss and stickers aren't her thing and it worked for my mom ... It's worked for other moms ... SO yeah you dont have to do that just what we did So next to the toilet I have a small Jar marked Tinkle Treats btw we have been doing this during the Easter candy so we got the cute pastel M&M which are adorable !!  soo after Every successful potty she receives a Tinkle treat now this does become a issue when we are out however I will just pick up a small bag of M&M if I dont already have a small bag in my diaper bag from previous wins !! 

Soo Okay I was then Putting her in diapers at night that was the logical thing to do !! But then What I thought were NIGHT TERRORS started happening for a solid week 3 am Screaming like a Banchee and I would hope for her to go back to sleep but NOO!! I would finally check on her and she would say scared and cry and I'm thinking WHAT can you be scared of >.< SERIOUSLY !! it was only like on the 5th day of NO BODY getting any sleep that she finally alerted me that her distress was due to the  fact SHE needed to TI-TI !! all that for a midnight run to the toilet !! Sooo we back off her fluid consumption before bed time and have offered her toilet before bed and that problem was soon remedied ...

The Last and Final Peg in the thing was the DAMNED Froggy potty it was made for BOYS which I didn't think would be a HUGE deal BUT Julia could not sit on this toilet she would dance around it try to ride it BUT COULD NOT for the life of her sit on her toilet FINALLY I called it quits I Went back to the store and purchased the fisher Price Musical Potty which a PREVIOUS friend had told me not to get the musical potty as they would totally see it more as a toy then as an actual TOILET and this made TOTAL SENSE to me but this toilet has these little metal things and when water COMPLETES the connection BOOM!!! MAGICAL NOISE and MUSIC and YAY APPLAUSE for the poo

ThaT Sums up the Family experience that was Potty Training !! I have absolutely no clue if dabbling in elimination communication Helped, I don't know even prior training helped,  I'm not even sure if cloth diapers Helped ... I sure hope so as I think that was an awful Lot of effort in hopes that my child would train early and she did HOORAY!! Will I do it for my Next Child YES !! and WHY because Honestly I think all children have to be ready to go , but I think you also have to provide them the tools to go.. . To deny your child the option because you or a Pedi think they are too young is silly !! I think every child should have options to go to the potty as soon as the option is available. Do I think all Children will Potty train at 18 months NO I don't; I think Potty training involves a lot of work on both the Parent and the child ..I don't think every child is going to want to potty train at the age and that is their choice however I think every parent should begin the discussion as soon as possible... I'm happy Julia had a long time to think about it and finally made the decision To do it on her own terms and I'm happy it was before 2

Making Lemonade !!

GuideCraft Kitchen Helper

Munching on her recently Washed Lettuce HAHA what a cutie 

As you can tell I have a tiny kitchen this may even be a bit of a squeeze but its totally worth it!! I think she looks adorable in it and I know she loves to be up close and personal with the counter. I need to buy her some little tools so she can help mama in the kitchen 

I love the feeling of security of having her at the perfect height next to the counter 

    The Fabric for the Apron she is wearing that I made her She looks super cute in it

   Its Reversible and looks great with it on and helping mama in the kitchen

This was my first day with the kitchen helper it came out of the box pretty much assembled Be prepared for a better Review in a few weeks... I don't want to go into Great detail on something I haven't really used yet But I'm already really excited about it and so is my daughter ^_^ Soo I think it was worth it !!  I think since we got it when she was so young she will get years of use out of it and so with any luck her sibling will as well ^_^

Geo Solids from Amazon

Julia just received her package of Geo Solids I ordered From Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Wood-Geometric-Solids/dp/B000T1QQZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395355641&sr=8-1&keywords=geo+solid+19

If you want the link

This picture really tells you nothing about there scale you basically now know you have Wooden Shapes Soo I took a few pictures and made a short video for you guys to put there size in perspective

Here are a few Pictures of  the geo Solids as they are naturally and Right out of the can No wax NO polish Nothing !!  I'm thinking of leaving them Natural and just adding bees wax Olive Oil Polish. The Very First thing my daughter did was take the Pyramid and place it next to the triangle on her poster OMG My Bright little girl She understands the relativity of a 2-D picture and a 3-D object WOW Go her !! 

As for anyone saying these were to small and were not smooth I found them to be Very Smooth and Particularly the right size for a toddlers hands had they been bigger I dont think they would be easy for my 20 month old to handle ... Also if your wondering in the background that is your standard can of corn not the family Size kinda a size perspective everything is relative So now you can judge the size of the object in reference to  a standard can of veggies. 

My daughter has played with them all afternoon and is very content with them Happy for getting her the Geo Solids

Ballerina Room For Toddler

Montessori is for the Birds

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Our new Montessori Theme is  Birds !!! my daughter is so fascinated with Birds

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My Montessori Shopping Trip umm lets see a Bird Feeder, bird seed for some sensory play, 5 wooden birds which I want to paint to match the wooden eggs behind them I want to find one more I want 6 birds !! I have those cones free from grandma I want to paint them Orange and make a decorate your Own beak kinda thing.. I also got feathers multi colors and White I want to Paint with feathers .. .Extra wooden eggs and the book Are you My mother I think that's a classic !!! and My MIL got her a Bubble Blower and yea we are so going to use it kinda doesn't go with the theme but umm BUBBLES!!!  Oh there is also a pair of mini tongs from Hobby lobby which I plan to give her the eggs and then there is this Squish em egg from walmart that funky clear thing with the yellow center btw throw that against the wall and it looks like a straight up Fried EGG!! 

our new Montessori Corner which houses our day to day toys and our Montessori Toys 

I think this new shelf arrangement Sings SPRING !! we have flowers by Lamaze , We have a Picnic Basket from Leap frog BTW I love that toy !! I have a melissa and doug nesting toy , Curious George Books we LOVE GEORGE !! with a Kaleidoscope and her buckle board still working on that a color book and a flower puzzle Sooo much fun 

Project Life 2014

I really have stumbled over project life OH way to many times to count ...

I haven't done it as when I stumbled across it well Basically I was a little busy scrap booking and adorable baby book. however now that I'm changing directions and wanting something more family orientated as I will Probably be doing baby books for each child but then doing a project life album for every year. A family year book as you will. Somehow we have stumbled all the way into March and I haven't done a page and Now i'm like finding out your suppose to do this week by week and even though my goal this year was not to fall behind in scrap booking and photo editing somehow I have managed. In some kind of fairness I feel I should get credit for the fact that OH i dunno I did just recently move and do a adorable Child bedroom. Now that we are mostly unpacked I cannot lie as we are not 100% there like I really wanted -_- things have happened. I would give us a 80% unpack rating. I feel like I really want to get back to my photography and my family year books. I'm trying to define my goals in photography this year and I really feel project life is going to be a great way to grow as a photographer while documenting everyday life I'm so excited to get started and now that the weather is not Entirely Freezing I did manage to take some adorable shots of my daughter

Creative life

Today I may have found my ultimate photographer Role Model. I won't call her Mentor cause supposedly she doesn't want to be one but I ultimately just fell in love with her after watching her creative live class. If your not familiar with Creative live you need to get familiar its an amazing Online course with Videos from legit professional who actually make money in the business not your fat pompous art professor from community college. Why did I got there again oh wait it was FREE >.<  Ahh the Old All ma Mater !!! I mean seriously nothing could have been more stifling and cruel the being a artist there.... >.<  I just assumed I could never do art commercially and went on to computers as that seems like a better idea to a impressionable 19 year old.  BTW Computers from a community college also Not so helpful because I learned Main frame Programming -_- RPG and COBOL kids sure the programming was older then me , sure you had to literally slow down the computer to handle it ... But that didn't stop this girl from sending the computer into a loop of a life time and causing the main frame to crash ^_^ !!! I bet Mrs. Hill house loved me I was also the CPNA president That is Computer Programmers and Net workers Association for all those not in the know !!  I'm sure it had nothing to do with my adorable Denim Mini and Red Halter as I also was In a Miss ICC pageant and was having head shots that day -_- ... I honestly would never had ran had it not been for the egotistical Man Child Chase running unopposed it was only after I received the position that i realize this was not a prize I wanted to win...

Okay enough about my College years anyhow we see the gap from my art which basically became non existent from years 2008- 2012 a happy House painting when I was in the mood But dare I say that was IT!!!  That was probably until my meeting Tish Evans which actually happened about the same time I was expecting the most amazing little bundle of joy in my life ... She was a photographer/ storm chaser and a all around amazing person to hang out with. She always had her camera and she was so creative ^_^ I was really in love with the camera ... I'll be it Fascinated ....ALL the buttons Controls Dooo Dads and gadgets ... Seriously my camera had like one button and its CLICK!!! haha I think it had maybe like a few modes and that was it !!  Oh and lots not forget to mention the lenses all the lenses they still fascinate me !! how you can change them out and change your perspective on the ENTIRE subject far a way close up Bokeh At the time I just called the making the back ground blurry ... Oh and lets not even forget to mention MACRO I hate to say it I honestly though all those drawing of snowflakes was something people did but oh look at a snowflake up close they really are just AMAZING!! I had to have one of my own !! I had to take pictures of things up close whats life unless you have taken pictures of a SNOWFLAKE !! far to short

I was Received My first DSLR A Canon Rebel T4i and I rarely brag but it was the newest in the rebel series when I got it and I felt pretty spectacular about myself for that moment. IF you know me I rarely spoil myself and I typically buy used and save the difference but oh the moment of pure luxury opening the Black box with the red lettering revealing a Shiny black new camera with all the books and everything still in tack. My husband even purchased my first lens the other day besides the kit lens a 50 mm Oh I felt like a big shot...

Of course there are people who tried to bring me down ... There are better cameras then a Rebel... there are more expensive lenses these people are stuck on goodies and I honestly think blame there photography on poor Equipment I have seen astounding photos taken with a camera phone seriously I'm sometimes befuddled with how people do get amazing quality photos with iphones !!  Equipment will come and go and remarkably some amazing photos were taken before all of the equipment... I will never be limited by my equipment and I know one day I'll have the better lens and the big back drops and the pretty lights all in good time I believe.

We are coming up on my Anniversary of the Rebel ^_^ I know because its time to take her to bestiary Yes I was somehow bilked into purchasing the care package for a year soo I will be getting my shutter cleaned.. I have been hoping okay Maybe polite fully suggesting that for my anniversary this year my husband could get me Ohhh I dunno a new Macro lens *Hint Hint* Honey Which I'm now wondering how many Years will it take before I feel like a photographer? I have 1 year of experience with a DSLR using it non stop !! However then I came across Sue Brice as for mentioned at the top!! and her class EYE opening ! I just had no direction Would I go professional? Could I make the leap?  I think the answer is Yes and yes ... I am however going to be honest and say I haven't been working as Hard as I could be!! I have taken pictures that I love. I have taken pictures and shared them. However I have not blogged about my Journey. I have not Acquired a Following, I have not Created a website, I haven't even created a Simple Business card !! Its official I Deserve A business Card !! I 'm at a point where I feel I can call myself a Photographer. I feel Comfortable with the term and its time for me to come to term with Pricing with Addressing that I'm a person with needs and I should be compensated for my equipment, time , and money ... not included Training and knowledge I have acquired over the past year. I'm only missing one thing Confidence. Its time for me to Dig Deep Down and say I'm worth it !!