Worthy Expenditures

After weeks (months?) of working on this whole "going to the potty" thing, Jack has finally nailed it. The following is a list of things that got us here:

1) Approximately 100 'Special Treats' to include M&Ms, candy corn, mini marshmallows, and the latest craze- the fabulous Jelly Belly jelly bean. These were rewarded after successful trips to the bathroom- 3 for a #1 and a handful for a #2.

2) Seven pairs of toddler underwear. After a few valiant attempts at cleaning poop-logged underwear, Kyle and I decided that toddler undergarments are disposable. The discarded clothing included a few too-tight pairs of Thomas and Spiderman themed undies and an assortment of Diego and SpongeBob for good measure. I think one or two were really nice, cute (expensive) pairs from Gymboree as well. Luckily, I learned after the first few that the cheaper underwear cousins found at Sears and Kohls were the way to go.

3) One Ford F-150 battery-powered Power Wheels vehicle. This award was given after two consecutive days of no accidents and voluntarily pooping in the potty. He had begged us for a Diego car as his Special Treat for pooping on the potty, and I tried to convince him, in spite of what he really wanted, to accept a small Jeep with Diego and a few wild animals as his prize. He wasn't fooled and led me right to the Power Wheels section of Toys R Us to pick out his 'real' Diego Jeep, only to find that they were all sold out. So, we made a pilgrimage to Wal-Mart to see what they had and ended up with the F-150 (aka, the cheapest one there). We love this boy, as we hadn't been to Wally World in YEARS prior to this adventure, and went happily to find Jack's Special Treat.

4) 60 extra loads of laundry. No further explanation needed.

5) One Potty Training Certificate from Daycare with a $10 per week reduced childcare rate and a child who has learned to say "I am so proud of you."

Priceless.