I want an M&M.

Potty training has officially begun.

Rich and I have been fairly lazy up until this point with potty training. I honestly did not see the point in pushing it especially when we are not the ones caring for the girls during the day. Imagine if I told Grammy that, in addition to everything else she does, she is going to have to add cleaning up pee and poop accidents to the list.

Grammy has a cousin who runs an in-home day care. She told Grammy that she doesn't start/deal with potty training until her charges are two and a half years old. We introduced potty training about nine months ago but the girls really just didn't understand it. They were excited to sit on the Elmo potty seat and they had the lingo down pat but that was about as far as we made it.

This new round all started with me putting Em on the potty first thing in the morning after I noticed that she had managed to go through the night with a completely dry diaper. And then came Allie. I'm using bribery for our potty training as well. I hijacked a bag of those tiny M&Ms from Grammy and promised one for every peeps on the potty. And I'm serious with the M&M distribution - no M&Ms for trying. It needs to be the real deal.

This is really sad but I can't even remember the exact chain of events but it was Saturday morning and things were a bit crazed and rushed around here as Rich and I were attending the funeral for his aunt. I think Allie was the first one to do peeps and she promptly received her M&M. Well, Em had been trying and desperately wanted one. And then there is Anna, who really can't be potty trained and it would be unfair to not include her somehow. So upon Rich's suggestion, I immediately updated the rules. Peeps on the potty = 2 mini M&Ms. Sisters each receive a congratulatory M&M (if they are around.)

I do have to tell you a cute story from Monday morning. Allie woke up before we left for work so onto the little froggy potty she went. And she did her peeps right away. She was so excited - it was the cutest thing. She was running around the house, clapping her hands and yelling, "Yay." She even went over to the dinosaur stuffed animal (that has joined Elmo as a beloved lovey) and told him that she had done peeps on the potty.

The downside to potty training: Emily insisting on using the potty at 4:12 this morning because, you guessed it, we were sleeping on our couch cushion bed together. She went right away so I did feel bad for just trying to change her diaper.

We'll get there. Eventually.