Peepocalypse!!!

So I don't know what happened. We have 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 3 cats, so let's face it, it could've been any one of them. Someone peed in my boys' bedroom!!! IT. WAS. BAD. I smelled it one morning and thought maybe it was their bedding; everyone had been sick, and things were kinda funky. So, I stripped the beds and did massive amounts of laundry all day. I thought that had done it...boy, was I wrong! The next morning it smelled even worse in there!! I went into attack mode. I shampooed the carpet with our carpet cleaner. I sprinkled baking soda. I vacuumed. It STILL stunk! I was in a panic. I was convinced we were going to have to take the carpet out of their bedroom. That's when my sister in law came to the rescue. You guys!!! This is the greatest thing. EVER!!! I don't know where Emma found this, but hot damn, did it work! Here's what you need:

Baking soda
Peroxide
Vinegar
Dawn dishsoap
Scrub brush

Okay so I sprinkled the entire area with baking soda. Then I used my peri bottles (yes! I still had peri bottles from when my daughter was born...3+ years ago! Don't judge me! Haha) for the peroxide and vinegar. I used about twice as much peroxide as vinegar, though there's no exact science to it. Then I squirted a little bit of the dish soap onto the rest (don't use too much! You don't want to end up with a bunch of bubbles). Then I just went to town with my scrub brush. I scrubbed it in until it was fairly evenly distributed. Now comes the waiting....if you've got a fan, I'd suggest using it to help the carpet dry up faster.
By the time my kids were ready for bed, it was time to vacuum. Make sure your baking soda is completely dry, or your vacuum is going to be a mess, and you're not going to be a happy camper. Trust me on this!! I had to scrub a bit more as it had gotten pretty crusty.
The verdict? The smell is GONE!!! I'm completely amazed! I wish my sister in law didn't live so far away, because I'd be giving her a big old kiss right about now. I'm keeping this one in my back pocket, because with this many kids and critters in the house, it's bound to happen again! Hopefully it will work for you too!

Potty Training: AKA Every Kid Is Different, and Other Ways That Life Isn't Fair

So we're back to the potty training thing again; this time with our daughter. Can I just start by saying that she's growing up WAAAAAAYYYYYY too fast!!! It seems like only yesterday I was working on this with the Frat Boys!

So, I figured this was going to be a walk in the park. She's more communicative than the boys were at that age. In fact, I had an argument with her one afternoon because she decided to have a tea party with her dolls rather than take a nap. She informed me that she was a big girl, and no longer needed to nap, thank you very much. I calmly replied that if she was a big girl, then she needed to start using the potty. She replied, "no mummy. I need a diaper, I'm a baby". We went back and forth on this for 20 minutes!!! TWENTY! I was effectively trounced by a toddler!!! She doesn't want to sit in a wet, or worse...STINTY (she can't say K's, and it cracks me up) diaper. Why the hell doesn't this kid want to use the potty?!?!?

I've tried all of the same tricks I employed with her brothers, and then some. Sticker chart? Nope! Treat jar? No dice! Pink nail polish? Not a chance! Panties with Elsa, Anna, and Olaf on them...the Holy Grail of Disney Princesses? Not on your life, mum! I even bought packages of princesses for her to play with. She got the three she really wanted, and that was that! The rest are collecting dust under our bathroom vanity!

I'm so done with diapers! I've been changing diapers, and wiping asses for almost 6 years solid now! She's going to be three soon! What is the holdup? I suppose her brothers were over 4 by the time they decided they were ready. I suppose she has a new baby cousin, and she's feeling like she's not quite ready to not be the baby anymore. She likes lying on her change pad, and informing anyone that enters the room that she needs "pie-see" (privacy) while she's having her privates polished by yours truly. It's not like a few more boxes of diapers is going to be the death of us after the thousands that we've already spent. (Remind me again, why we didn't go with cloth....what were we thinking?!?!?)

I need to remind myself not to push her. She's a very independent little creature (not unlike her mum), and will do things in her own bloody time! I guess until then I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, and hoping that she'll be ready to use the potty sooner rather than later!