Potty training is still in progress. I would say that we are at about a 7 on the scale of training with 0 being not trained at all and 10 being fully trained. The boys don't have accidents in the house when the potty is in view and will use it as needed without being reminded. However, when we are outside and they are distracted occasionally they forget to sit on the potty and go even when it is sitting nearby. I'm sure that if I remembered to remind them to go they would do really well, however I forget because I have limited memory these days...another story for another time.
After 3 years of church hunting I think that we finally found a home. The funny thing is that the church that we like is the first one that we ever went to after we moved to Pennsylvania. We have visited quite a few churches over the years... Methodist, Lutheran, and some non-denominational Christian churches and never really felt a connection. When we lived in Ohio we attended a church within walking distance of our house that was at the entrance to our subdivision. It was a no-brainer to choose that church simply because of proximity, but luckily we loved it too! Unfortunately, it spoiled us for ever finding another church that could measure up. Our church in Ohio was nearby, attended by all of our neighbors, had a young pastor with kids, a contemporary service, a casual atmosphere, and the pastor was an incredible dynamic speaker with a great message. Our new home church now offers a contemporary service with a more casual atmosphere which it didn't 3 years ago. The boys go to the nursery and children's church without tantrums which didn't happen 3 years ago. Finally, the church service is at a time that works really well with our kids schedule which was non-existent 3 years ago. The church has a ton of programs for kids. It also has a great music program, so I may try to get involved in a music group when Shane is a little less dependant on me. There are also some opportunities for small group bible studies that might be fun for John and I, so we are looking forward to getting more involved and excited that we can stop picking church names out of a hat!
At church this morning we took Jonah and Sam to the nursery (Wyatt attends the children's church) and dropped them off with Jean. They are familiar with the routine by now, but today was different. Today was the first time that they have attended the nursery at church since they started potty training 2 weeks ago. So, when I dropped them off this morning I took along a little potty. Jean probably thought that I was crazy, but she put their potty down in the corner and told them where it was in case they had to go. When we picked the boys up after church she said that they used it without being reminded and she was impressed how self sufficient they were! Jean is saint!
Our little travel potty is my most essential piece of children/baby equipment that I have ever owned. It is the BEST $9 that I have EVER EVER spent. We take it everywhere! Wyatt uses it, the twins use it, even I have been known to use it in an emergency! Last week we took it to the bowling alley and the kids all used it sitting on the floor behind the scoring table! Since there is no way that I can take all four kids to the bathroom every time that somebody needs to go we set up the potty wherever we are and the kids use it without any problem. It also eliminates most of the sanitary issues associated with toddlers in a bathroom because they touch EVERYTHING!!! The twins are also still a little small for the big commercial toilets in adult bathrooms and have a hard time balancing on the seat. But the biggest factor that the travel potty helps with is the safety issues since the kids can't physically all fit into a bathroom stall and I can't see them all at the same time I am always worried that somebody will take one of them or they will wander out of the bathroom and get lost.
I'm not sure why I wrote about church and pottys in the same post, but it's too late to turn back now. In summary we found a great church and a great travel potty which are both essential parts of our lives these days and I can't imagine our life without out either one of them! (See, I did tie it all up together nicely in the end didn't I?!?!? Ye of little faith!)
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