Potty Training vs. MBA: Which is More Difficult?

Okay... We have officially been "potty training" for an entire year...yes, one year. Not sure which is worse, the fact that it has been going on for so long, or that I am beyond the shame of admitting that it has been going on for so long.

O is a stubborn one... at first, the novelty of it all sucked her into being cooperative. She would sit on her little potty chair for hours, reading books, magazines, whatever. Then she decided that the potty chair wasn't interesting... She needed to sit on the "big" potty... That seemed like a good idea to me...we were making progress. Soon, Dora seat on the toilet to be sure she wouldn't fall in, we were all about going like a big girl. She even started to actually go... Soon that lost its appeal, too, and no bribery of any sort would get her interested. I would tell her it was time to go potty and she would say "no tanks, mama". Okay...this is not a no thanks moment. Lately, I thought we were close...she is keeping her pull-ups dry, so we made the big switch to the "big-girl panties". She was all about the panties...showing people the ones with the turtles on them, etc. However, this morning she informed me that she wasn't going to wear her panties anymore because her princess pull-ups are her favorite. Great news...looks like a trip to Target for princess panties is going to need to happen.

To complicate things further... while I have been pretty intent on this project for the last several months, the other half of the parent equation has not been. At one point I was informed that he was "not very impressed with her potty training". Huh, didn't realize she was suppose to be impressing us with her new skill?! Compounding the situation is O's new pre-school teachers who routinely send her home in a pull-up that is so wet it is hanging to her knees. Are you kidding me? Needless to say, I am planning to fix these two problems by sending her to school in panties... the teachers will pay more attention after they clean a few puddles. Hopefully, dad will also get the message.

Here's the final analysis... It takes a village to potty train a toddler...everyone needs to be on the same page or it just does not work. Potty training or an MBA? My advice is go back to grad school...it is MUCH easier.

Just words...

Tonight, when I called O to see how her day went and tell her good night, she answered the phone by saying "I talk you 'morrow Mom, I not want to talk to you". Okay, so right now you are cringing because you can guess how I took this, but also saying that every Mom has a story about a day their child said something "mean" to them, right?! Every toddler tells their parents that they don't like them for one reason or another...

I know in my heart that she was most likely distracted with some other activity (huh, wouldn't getting ready for bed be a good idea?!?) and just literally in her three-year old mind, did not have time for me. So, why have I spent the last two hours trying to convince myself of this? Why do I start projecting a future in which she wants to be with him because of course he is more fun, rather than spending time with her Mom? Is this really about her, or about me and my fears as a Mother?

So I start to think about how my whole world is focused on O, and maybe that isn't the healthiest for myself or for her? Is this about her trying to establish some independence when she is away from me? Is she trying to figure out for herself how she manages her new routine? Is she trying to figure out how to accept a situation that she hasn't been given a choice in? Or... is she punishing me for making her go through this transition and forcing her to accept changes she doesn't want to accept? Or am I totally over the edge with the analysis and she is just being a sassy three-year old??? No one ever said motherhood would be easy...