Vic left around 10AM and I left shortly thereafter with Ella and Carson. Did I mention that we're back on the potty training again? Anyway, we made it to the library and paid our late fines on the first floor and Ella said "I have to go potty." Although she says this more often than she needs to go, this is one of her usual times to go. I had Carson in the carseat attached to the stroller and the restrooms were on the second floor. We quickly walked to the elevator and waited for it to arrive. Although it seemed like forever, I'm sure it was not. We rushed onto the elevator. With my mouth open, I watched in slow motion as my keys fell off my stroller hood and oh no!!! down the elevator shaft. I really wanted to cry/scream/curse but I managed to calmly focus on getting Ella to the potty. She successfully pee-ed in the toilet and we celebrated. Then, I explained the key situation to her and told her we needed to find someone to help. After sharing my embarrassing predicament with the librarian, she informed me that it would cost $500 for the elevator company to retrieve my keys today or $0 on Monday. She then lovingly reassured me that my carkey was probably going to be ruined anyway because it was sitting in a puddle of oil under the hydraulic elevator. Her husband was an elevator man so she seemed to know a lot about elevators. The staff opened up their playroom for us and offered to drive us home, get anything we need, etc. I know a replacement key would be expensive, but probably close to the same price so I set out to find a ride home.
I called my sister-in-laws who live down the street and no one answered. I am sure they were outside enjoying the beautiful day. I called my husband who had driven three other co-workers to the golf outing at least 45 minutes away - no hope there! Thankfully, my father-in-law rescued us. As I drove through McDonald's to pick up food for Ella, I had a thought to call the fire department. Since they rescued cats from trees, maybe they could rescue my key from the deep vast elevator shaft (really only 2-3 feet). They were willing and eager to help; however, the librarian and particularly the facility manager were not happy with my idea. The facility manager was not happy because he would have to drive from his home to the library on his off day. The librarian could not understand why I could not wait until Monday; her attitude completely changed toward me. Here's a simple answer: if my key was sitting in a puddle of oil, I would rather it sit in the oil for less time. I guess that's selfish, but oh well. It ends up that the firemen did not have the right key for the job (which would suck if there was an entrapment) and the facility manager claimed he didn't have a key. The firemen could, however, see that my key was sitting on dry concrete not in a puddle of oil so I was content to wait until Monday. On Monday, I picked up my key from the same librarian who said absolutely nothing to me. So, lesson learned, do not put key on the hood of your stroller and always have a bottle with you (just in case). BTW, the firemen were awesome. They chatted with me, answered Ella's many questions and let her touch the firetruck.
Meanwhile, potty successes continued.... dry all day on Saturday and Sunday while she was awake. She's still not completely comfortable telling her teachers at school so we've come home wet from school on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. She's not staying dry during naps or the night yet, but she tells us that she's wet when she wakes. She is staying dry in the evenings and stayed dry ALL DAY today. She went to the potty FOUR times today without us prompting/questioning her. She's telling us, holding it, pretty much pulling her pants/diapers down and going pee pee on the potty. She's not pooping on the potty by herself yet although that's what she started doing first in June. So, after two training potties, two toilet seats, four how-to books, numerous stickers and sticker charts, too many to count prizes and children's books on potties, we are very, very close to having a potty-trained 2 1/2 year old Ella.
If someone asks me for my secret, I don't have one. None of the trained in one day methods worked for us. Sticker charts were great for getting her started, but they weren't motivating enough for her. After we knew she knew when she needed to go but chose to go in her pants anyway, we started using consequences. At first, we marked a black X on her 5 circle per day chart instead of giving her a stamp for a success. When she began to tell us that we now needed to mark an X on her chart when she had an accident, we knew she understood consequences. So, I went for the ultimate sacrifice... her 10 market pieces from her Little People playset. She absolutely loves to play market especially with Dad. The rules were simple:
- If she had an accident while awake, she lost one market piece.
- If she went pee-pee or poo-poo on the potty, she got all the market pieces back.
She lost three pieces on the first day, but got them all back on the second morning. So far, she has not lost more than two pieces before earning them all back. Surprisingly, this plan has not caused panic, tantrums or tears. No arguments either. She gets it! If you played market and some pieces were missing, she knew why they were missing. Oh - and we never told her she was bad, but that pee-pee in the diaper was bad or mommy doesn't like wet diapers. It could be coincidentally the right time, the peer pressure at school, the market pieces, showing her how to pull down/up her pants/diaper, or the new Baby Bjorn toilet seat and stool that help her go like grown-ups. Who knows but keep your fingers crossed - we think we're approaching the finish line.
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