Potty Training Celebration (and a word about cloth diapers)

A year ago I thought I was so clever; I had already started to train my 1 1/2 year old girls how to go potty like big girls.  The girls would sit on the potty readily and they would occasionally pat their diapers and say "ba" to indicate that they needed to go to the potty.  This early start was prompted primarily by my desire to do away with disposable diapers and my guilt for not realizing how smart today's cloth diapers are designed.   I missed a really great cloth diaper review that was published in 2009.  Back then I was too busy researching diaper cleaning services (which virtually don't exist), when instead I should have been looking at these all-in-one cloth diapers.  I absolutely intend to use cloth diapers next time.


Well now back to potty training, where we have been "in training" for a year now and the last two months have particularly been a chore.  It would appear that the girls know how to potty but that they decide when (or if) they want to go to the potty like big girls.  Many of the accidents we have at home seem to be intentional (e.g. moments after I ask them if they need to potty and they say "NO") .  I came to realize that we would just have to stay positive through the accidents and make sure that we had plenty of dry panties in the house.  Lots of little messes to clean up and a little more laundry than usual these last few weeks but I am happy to report that we have seen a lot of progress.  We are only wearing diapers at night, which means two disposable diapers a day destined for the landfill instead of 10 or so.  And lastly, both girls kept their bottoms dry all day yesterday while out and about celebrating the 4th of July.  Hooray!

We Ate A Whole Chicken

Through Local Harvest I learned about Gramen Farm in Tomball.  We recently visited the place to learn more about the farm and the products available for purchase.  It was fun!  The girls loved petting the goats and walking through mud.  My husband loved that they have grass-fed beef (though not on the day that we went).  The owner was very helpful and informative and encouraged us to try a chicken so we bought one.  The price was $4 per pound.  Jason went to the cooler with one of our dark green reusable shopping bags and selected our carcass.  I was terrified about what I might find in the bag when we got home; I was worried about the blood and guts.

I have never done this sort of thing before.  Even though we have hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the last six years, I have never handled a raw turkey.  Every time I handle raw flesh I want to become a vegetarian (well there are other environmental reasons too).  When we stopped at the Farmers Market on the way home to check out the produce available that is when my buyer's remorse set in regarding the chicken.  I declared that my husband would absolutely have to manage the kitchen clean-up that night.  And he did.  (I was delighted to later learn that the chicken was already cleaned at the farm and only required a gentle rinsing at home.)

The chicken dinner was absolutely amazing!  The whole chicken was roasted in the oven with a whole lemon inside, after it was coated with olive oil and Herbs De Provence.  It weighed four pounds so it needed to cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.  While roasting, I boiled potatoes and made mashed potatoes and then steamed green beans.  It was one of the best meals ever.  The girls eagerly asked for more, more, more please.  I could tell that my husband was internally panicking over whether he would have enough to eat (well he did manage to save some of the thigh meat for lunch the next day).

The owner of Gramen Farm warned us when we bought the chicken that we would have a difficult time eating any other chicken after we tried a free range chicken and he was right.  Even though I can buy affordable organic chicken breasts at Costco, I have been waiting to buy another chicken at Gramen Farm.  I think I have finally found the courage to manage my fears over raw chicken in the kitchen because I am even more excited about putting good food on the table for my family.