Risky Business

Anyone see a resemblance? Right down to the socks and the singing. I took this picture of Michael after church on Sunday when he wouldn't change into a different shirt and I had to take off his pants because we've been POTTY TRAINING!Two weeks ago yesterday Michael found the "Thomas the Tank Engine" underwear I bought at Target a little while back, to be prepared. I asked him if he wanted to wear it. He said "yes." And so it began. I had noticed I didn't have anything to do that week so I thought we'd stay at home and give it a try. He had been sitting on his potty chair for a few months with his clothes on and "went" a couple of times over General Conference weekend when he learned he could earn a Skittle or an M&M for this accomplishment. I set the timer for 15 minutes and tried to get this guy who hates drinking to drink a lot so he could have some success. He had fun at first, was thrilled about the candy, and then started throwing fits whenever I took him into the bathroom. He would rather watch t.v.. The next day I took him about every 30 minutes to an hour and he did much better. He likes to dump it into the big potty and rinse out the bowl (while I tense up hoping he won't spill it), flush the toilet, and put the bowl back on his potty. Then we go straight into the kitchen for his candy.
He can hold it I know, but he doesn't know when it's coming. I still take him every hour or so and don't know how to teach him to just go in when he feels it coming. Maybe that will come later. For now, I take him into the bathroom (kicking and screaming) and then he forgets all about whatever activity I just ripped him away from and gets all excited about his candy.
One issue, though, is poop. I never know when it's coming and he likes to do it in his underwear. I, however, hate cleaning it up. Chocolate cake batter (above) is fun to clean off. Then your kids smell like chocolate all day when you kiss them! Poop, however, is a different story.
Today after lunch it was actually Sam's that caused the problem. (See above photo illustration). The boys watched Handy Manny or some tool cartoon this morning and decided to "fix" the lamp. Sam is interested in touching the contents of his diapers lately and evidently went to work on the lamp after checking his diaper. I heard Michael screaming, running away from Sam and saying "No!" and went in to check on the situation. Here's what I found:

Sam's face and hands covered in poop.
Michael's face and hair streaked with poop.
Poop on the lampshade.
Poop on the armoire.

I changed Sam's diaper and washed him off. Then I noticed Michael had pooped in his underwear. So I cleaned off his bum, washed out his underwear, then washed his face and hair in the bathroom sink. He'll only has a couple of bruises on his forehead from the faucet as he wouldn't hold still. I think I got it all cleaned up but I still smell something bitter following me around so I can only assume it got in my hair too.
The good thing is I can never get enough of this delightfully ticklish na*ked boy. After story time this morning I decided to walk around the corner and stop in See's Candy for a treat. We've been in California for four months and I haven't had a single white chocolate-covered divinity puff. Although I think this whole affair could have been caused by babies on chocolate, the little buzz helped us all handle it with humor, except for the moment I spanked Sam for smearing his poop on his brother. But, after that, we were all laughing and I still hear them awake upstairs. Michael is singing "Now Let Us Rejoice" with one change; he sings "and some will molest them from morn' until ev'n." instead of "none." It cracks me up. Again, probably because of the chocolate.

Moral of the story: Parents who do chocolate have kids who do chocolate and although potty training stinks, (pun intended), with enough sleep and a little chocolate, you can come away from a day like mine and just say, "na*ked toddlers are cute."

Guess potty training is a "Risky Business."