Good Day Sunshine

We had another gorgeous day yesterday and since the next two days promise cold rain I decided to bundle the kids up and head for one of our favorite outdoor hangouts – the botanical gardens.  We hadn’t been there since the Christmas light tour and it had been at least a month before that, so Frances and George were excited to return:

We rarely go anywhere these days without one of the princess costumes tagging along.

Did I mention it was a sunny day?

And here is where I interject a subject not talked about in, oh, maybe 2 posts – George’s potty training.  As an update, George is doing remarkably well with the notion of no diapers (and I mean it – no diapers, no pull-ups.  Cold turkey.  Except for naptime and bedtime of course; I have not completely lost all sensibilities).  I could not be more proud of my 2-year-old who went from throwing and kicking his little green porta-potty across the floor (empty, thankfully) to embracing all things potty related in less than 3 weeks.

However, here is also where I add to my previous list of “things learned during potty training a boy”:

There are exactly two states of being in a boy’s life – 1) I don’t need to go potty; and 2) I need to go potty NOW!

If an authority figure (for example, the boy’s mother) asks that the boy use the bathroom before leaving the house during the above-mentioned #1, he cannot and will not go.

Upon reaching your intended destination during said outing, the same boy will reach the above-mentioned #2 in less than 3 seconds or at the furthest possible point from a bathroom, whichever is less convenient.

So, probably needless to say, we experienced all three tidbits above during our trip to the gardens.  At the same moment we reached the children’s sandbox (Frances’s favorite part of the entire tour), George did his bladder dance and I heard those dreaded words, “Mommy!  Potty!”  I stuffed George in the stroller and Frances and I dashed up the hill to the main building, which housed the closest bathroom.  I felt so bad taking Frances away from the sandbox that as soon as George was done we ventured back down the hill to play.

As we drove home later that morning, the kids happily exhausted and reading to each other in the back, I had a rare moment with my own thoughts which naturally drifted to our big outing (or at least big since potty training boot camp began).  Had I known we would have had that near-accident, I may not have even tried to go; but I’m so glad I had no idea how the morning would unfold.  Hindsight can be a wonderful tool, but sometimes it is best to take a chance and learn as you go.

And secretly?  I am hoping that through these adventurous activities George learns it is much better for all involved if he would just go the bathroom before we leave the house.  Because who needs a bumpy 200 yard dash straight uphill sitting on a full bladder?

Happy Thursday everyone!