Lately I’ve been doing a lot of parenting by Pinterest. Back in the olden days when I was pregnant, you know 3 years ago, I had to read books to get all psycho about something. Now I can just look at pretty pictures on Pinterest for answers to all of my parenting problems like how to potty train my nearly three year old child.

So when I glanced at the calendar for this weekend and realized there wasn’t anything on it, I decided why not try some structured potty training? We’ve had a potty seat for a while, and have made some half-hearted attempts, but nothing formal. However, two of Charlie’s best friends are now officially potty users and she is potty curious. Let’s strike crazy hard while that iron is luke warm.

Instead of reading any long, wordy books I found this chart on Pinteret (click the image to go to the site where you can get a printable blue or pink chart of your very own).

Fill in the reward info in the top so all adults involved are consistent. For example: Pee Pee = 2 M&Ms, Poo Poo = 5 M&Ms

I knew Charlie wouldn’t be an easy mark, which meant a simple chart and some M&Ms wouldn’t cut it, so off I went to Target because this was going to be a party.

We started talking up the potty training shenanigans with her a couple days in advance, and I asked her what kind of stickers she’d like for her reward. She said red polka dots.

What?

No Dora? Or hearts or stars? And then I remembered, she likes those pricing circles that you get at office supply stores.

Awesome. Let’s make this whole thing polka dot themed since I tend to blow things out of proportion and M&Ms are already little round buggers anyway.

Look at that polka dotted gift bag. You know what's in there? A ton of different panties! Yep. More panties than she can probably use in a year. I bought every 4T pair Target had.

Salty snacks and gifts to wrap in polka dotted gift paper. The idea with the salty snacks is that they will make her thirsty, which will make her drink more thus giving her more opportunities to go pee pee in the potty.

And then I got all crafty. As it turns out Charlie didn't really care about the M&Ms. But the jar was cute.

In keeping with the polka dotted theme I made my husband hang paper lanterns in the bathroom downstairs. At this point he made it very clear that he thought I had lost my freaking mind. I didn't care. Has he met me? This is a POLKA DOTTED POTTY PARTY. Jeez.

Since we had talked Charlie’s ear off about for two days about her potty party she was very excited Saturday morning and by noon had already pee peed in the potty five times.

Because I knew the M&Ms weren't really going to do much for her I had modified the chart by adding drawings of gifts. Every time she got to a drawing of a gift she got to open a special present, which was typically a book or bath toy. This she LOVED.

By early afternoon I was starting to get panicky about how many gifts we were going to need. (Also, my printer is running low on ink and I didn't feel like changing it hence the funky color. Moving on)

Normally Charlie poops in the morning, but by mid-day nothing had happened. We could tell she was dying, but she wouldn’t talk about it, so we were watching her like a hawk, and following her everywhere she went, saying things like, “let’s go try to poo poo in the potty.”

A few weeks ago in a moment of weakness Steve promised Charlie an iPhone if she pooped in the potty. I’m not kidding. She hasn’t let this go. Now any time anyone says anything about pooping in the potty she says, “And get iPhone?”

Luckily for Steve iPod Touches (refurbished ones) were on Woot the other day and he grabbed one. So in the event that she does EVER poop on the potty we’re set. I know this is probably ridiculous and excessive, but that’s us. Ridiculous and excessive.

After a long, fun, exhausting, playful day that included one turtle, one  pee pee accident in daddy’s leather chair, one poo poo accident and THIRTEEN pee pees in the potty we’re counting this as a successful first attempt at real potty training.

Murtle the Turtle before she was returned to the creek

Day two wasn’t as exhausting and included about the same stats (minus the turtle). We were so stir crazy we had to get out, so we went to the Botanical Gardens (with a diaper on because I am a chicken). My friend Natalie swears by this one-day potty training method she found on Pinterest.We did a lot of the things it mentions like calling, but we didn’t do the weird running back and forth thing.

Charlie & Abby at the Botanical Gardens

Charlie and the chickens at the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks

Whatever you chose to do, good luck!

By the way, this is how we wrapped up the weekend. Not too shabby.