The potty tantrums

Since my daughter has turned 3, her tantrums have taken on a whole new face. She is now old enough where she wants to exert her own will and make her own choices. This has resulted in tantrums about chocolate milk, tantrums about her brother looking at her, and the potty.

I hate the potty tantrums, with a capital H.

It's something that began very innocently. In an effort to help her become more independent, we taught her to tell us she had to go potty when we were out so as to save her the embarrassment of an accident while at the store. This part of the equation has worked out wonderfully.

Then there is the flip side. She WILL NOT go potty at home unless we grant her permission when she tells us she has to go potty. So when we hear her say "I have to go potty." we have to respond "Okay, go potty." and off she will run. She dumps it, flushes, and washes her hands. Total success. #2's she will call for us to come and clean up. Which that is fine. Don't mind it one bit.

What the problem is, is when we don't hear her or respond in time to her "I have to go potty." cry. Like this morning when I was in the shower. The water is going and the fan is running. Do I hear her outside the bathroom door? No. My oldest announces in his normal voice that she has to go potty. But it is too late. I hear her bedroom door slam and the tantrum has begun. This happens almost daily. It happens when I'm trying to get us out the door for school, to the store, bath time, you name it. The result is a little girl who is ticked off beyond belief because I didn't give her permission to pee, who is now wet, rolling around in a fists of fury tantrum.
This morning was no exception. I was able to sidetrack her with coaxing about seeing her friends, being able to sing songs, have snacks, etc. Gratefully, it wasn't a total wardrobe loss, but it required a change of underpants and stockings. Then the demon reared it's head again while she was going potty and refused to get off of the potty so we could go.

I am so tired of fighting with a half naked mini beast.

The Family Bed

Our bed is a sad case.  When I was pregnant with our daughter, we found out that we were inheriting the queen size bed and bedroom set that was my husbands grandmothers. I was elated. We had been making due with our full since we got married. It was fine for just the two of us, but when our son was born, we soon realized that it was going to be a problem. He's not big on sharing and we were in the situation of losing sleep due to hands and feet invading our space.
My husbands cousin brought the set down for us and in my impatience, I made my husband set it up so we could sleep on it. Oh, did I mention we were also using the old mattress that came with it?? I didn't? Well, we were using the old mattress and to our dismay. We learned that grandma, in her old age (and stubborness) had developed a "leaky" problem which she denied. Well, to put it short. The mattress stunk. That's not even the right word. REEKED is more appropriate. I was sorry the first night. I didn't sleep well at all. As our bodies made the bed warm and toasty, the "fragrance" became stronger. My husband didn't smell it or at least claims not to smell it.
Due to my super heightened, pregnant nose, I smelled it and it kept waking me up.
I stripped the bed the next morning and sprayed it down with Febreeze. When that ran out, I mixed vinegar and water in the bottle, then sprayed it down. That helped a little. I then went out to the store and bought a plastic mattress cover and a soft one to put onto to decrease the crinkle noise. That helped and has kept it at bay since. (This is just a temporary solution until we can afford to buy a new mattress set.)
I did enjoy the comment our son made the first night though when he sneaked into our bed. I did the normal, grab and roll with him so that he was in between us. He was quiet for a few moments, then said "Daddy is at work?" My husband chuckled thus making our son say "oh! Daddy, I thought you went to work, but you right there."
When my daughter hit six months, we decided to move our room upstairs and make our room our sons. Our daughter sleeps in the nursery, since she isn't big on bedsharing right now. This presented the problem of getting our bed upstairs. The frame: no problem, the mattress: no problem, the boxspring: problem.
So my husband decided to cut it in half to fit it up our stairs. He then, reattached it and assured me that it was fine.
It lasted that night. Come morning, I think it was around 6:30, when all of us were in the bed. Daughter nursing, son sleeping, me and hubby dozing. The bed snapped in the middle popping us upright. That worked better than any alarm clock I've ever had. My husband joked that he was awake anyway. I joked that we now had a "Craft-matic Adjustable Bed" like from the info-mercials. He then proceeded into the basement to get his tools and while making 'Tim Allen' grunting noises, he re-fixed the bed.
It has since held up, but is starting to make creaking and popping noises again. Let's just say I am eager for tax return season and have high hopes of mattress sales this spring.