Tali's Candy Potty

I have never enjoyed potty training. Who does? I once had a friend offer me $200 to potty train her kid. Are you kidding? Maybe $2000! If you're one of those moms that says it's easy, I don't believe you.

So, when we were walking through the store and 25-month-old Tali fell madly in love with this cute little pink potty, I was not amused. I don't think there's any point in potty training before two and a half. I mean, really, how hard is it to change a few diapers a day? It's a lot easier than using every public restroom you come across because a two-year-old can't hold it for more than an hour. Or maybe they can hold it and it's their little way of telling mom they don't really like shopping. And for punishment, mom will have to squeeze into a stall and hold them an inch above the seat for an indefinite amount of time while holding her breath. Or maybe they have been hired by the city to make sure there is always a toilet (or something comparable) within three minutes of any given point in town.

Whatever the case . . . both Tali and Liz were absolutely smitten with this little pink potty. I thought it was slightly cute also, and that's when I made my first mistake. I let Tali sit on it for a minute and then tried to put her back in the cart. Seconds later, Tali was screaming "NOOOOOOOO, Potty!!!!" Liz, also hoping the potty would come home with us for its asthetic value alone, said, "Mom, Tali will need it later and it says 'sale', so why don't we just get it now?" Such reasoning and logic for a 5-year-old. One minute later, the potty was in the cart, two girls were smiling, mom was rolling her eyes, but everyone was happy. And I was planning on hiding that beautiful abomination in the closet for about six months.

Of course, Liz had other expectations. She brought it in the house and opened the box with Tali. How did they sneak it past me? I had already given in once to this potty battle, so I decided to put it together, let Tali sit on it again, put them to bed, and then continue with my plan to HIDE it. And, guess what happened?

Tali sat down and peed in the potty. The next day she went #2 (I didn't take a picture of that). I was so excited (actually completely astonished) that I made my second mistake and gave her a candy. And thus the phrase "Candy Potty!!!!!!!!!!!" Notice candy comes before potty. Why? Because for Tali, the potty is all about getting a piece of candy. Actually staying dry is a whole different matter. But I'm sticking to my guns and not doing any training because I think she's too young (or I'm too lazy).

So, now this pretty candy potty sits proudly in the kids' bathroom and I don't really know where to go from here. I've always tried the Potty Training in a Day method (which really takes a few weeks). Is this why people buy Pull-ups. I guess we're on the Potty Training in a year plan.