Potty Training is an Individual Sport

Potty training essentially feels like a lot of trial and error with no rhyme or reason. My best advice...encourage them and just let them learn in the way they do best.

It actually came pretty easy many moons ago with my oldest. He was day trained at 22 months. Easy peasy. There wasn't much to it. He crawled early, walked early, so it made sense he potty trained early too.

10 years later with Lily, it was slightly more challenging. Now, we find ourselves in the throes of potty training our youngest, most stubborn little love.  What we're finding a little more difficult is that our lives are busier with more kids and activities and we just don't have the "let's stay home all day and just potty train" ability any longer.

There are articles and boasts all over the internet of how you can potty train your baby in 3 days, 18 hours, or whatever other time frame.

None of these folks sharing their magic time frames have ever met my Violet who entered the world on her own timetable and it seems potty training will be on her terms as well.  Let's just say we spend much time "fake pottying" throughout our day. Violet is that little one who refuses to spend her day sans diapers or undies, so there are a lot of wipes getting used during our potty training because each time--fake potty or real potty-- she needs a wipe.  Thankfully we have Cottonelle® FreshCare® Flushable Cleansing Cloths to help ease this last and latest potty trainer we have.

We have definitely learned that potty training is an individual sport! We don't push Violet and as much as I'm ready for her to be potty trained, she is taking her own sweet time. In addition to using the Cottonelle wipes to keep her bottom clean, she loves to sit on the potty and wipe her face with one.

Like I mentioned above, we are a busy, on-the-go family, so Cottonelle® FreshCare® Flushable Cleansing Cloths are a dream to have with us in the car!

The difference maker in these Cottonelle wipes versus regular baby wipes is that they are flushable! They feature SafeFlush Technology™, so they start to break down immediately after flushing. They are sewer and septic safe and they're alcohol free (so there's no burning bums!) 

Our entire family prefers wipes over regular toilet paper and I feel comfortable knowing we're using a safe product for our family and our house!

One thing that is very important in our household is saving money. We've found that Sam's Club helps make that possible!  Right now, you can get Cottonelle® FreshCare® Flushable Cleansing Cloths at Sam's Club and get a $3 instant savings coupon from 6/22-7/17!  The benefits of having a Sam's membership have allowed us to save money on products we use everyday.  I love that I can order online and pick up at the warehouse if I need to. Because, let's face it, saving time is just as valuable as saving money!

Thankfully Sam's and Cottonelle have us covered on both saving time and money!

What are your best potty training tips?

Spreading A Little Comfort & Cheer... Thanks, Kleenex®

Since Lily started kindergarten, a whole new slew of germs has entered our lives.  Even though, she went to preschool for 2 years, but it was a small school and she was around the same 4 other girls for both of those years. They'd built up their immunities together. Every cough, sneeze, sniffle, runny nose comes home with her now. Violet has gotten a couple of Lily's colds too.  Add to that, cutting teeth leaves her with a runny nose too.

Thankfully, overall we're a pretty healthy family and nothing really sticks around for long!

And seriously, thank goodness for Kleenex®!

We go through a ton of them and I'm grateful for Sam's Club having a big pack at such a great price!

Last Friday, Violet and I headed to Sam's Club to pick up our Kleenex®  and a few other staples we were out of. She was already having a continual runny nose and we could not get in there fast enough!

I'm a sucker for holiday packaging and I was so happy to find Sam's Club has an exclusive awesome  Kleenex® Winter Pack available! Look at those cutie canisters!!

Even Violet was excited about the perfect fit canisters in this exclusive Kleenex® Winter Pack!

I love that I can purchase items at Sam's Club my family goes through regularly at such a great value on quality brands we use!  You can even order online and just pick up at Sam's Club!  I like to go in and see what's new, but I love the idea of Club Pick up convenience especially with winter approaching quickly! If I can order online, keep the kids in the car and still get what I need --- that is fantastic!

Yogurt? Happy little girls!  Paper towels--can you ever have too many paper towels?  We love hot chocolate too and it's a perfect treat for cold winter nights.

A Sam's Club membership is totally worth it -- you can find more info about membership here.

As a kindergarten teacher, I simply could. not. have. enough.Kleenex® in my classroom.

Runny noses, wiping tears, picking up some unknowns after snacks or recess. 5 and 6 year olds have a lot going on. :)  Kleenex® brand tissues are absorbent, strong and soft for taking care of sweet, sensitive skin.

Now that I'm lucky enough to stay home with my kids, I always include Kleenex® in the supplies I send in for school.  I'm working on putting together a "teacher's winter survival care package" for Lily's teacher and you can bet I'm including that adorable snowman canister in the Kleenex® Winter Pack for her!

Sharing is caring...but not when it comes to germs, so we'll just share Kleenex® and #SpreadKleenexCare!

Sharing Kleenex® is such a simple way to let someone know you care. The smallest gesture goes such a long way. That's why I always keep them on hand, so I can #SpreadKleenexCare easily.

If you have kids, send Kleenex® in for their teacher-- she can never have too many!  Offer some to the frazzled mom waiting next to you in line with her kids at the pharmacy...with an understanding smile.  No lie, while I was standing in line to make a return at Sam's Club before we shopped, the young girl helping me noticed Violet's runny nose and offered me Kleenex®!

Yay, Mama! Thanks for getting so much Kleenex® to take care of my runny nose!






Thank you to KleenexⓇ for sponsoring this post, inspiring me to try the Kleenex® Perfect Fit Winter Pack, and for reminding us to #SpreadKleenexCare this holiday season!

Needing a Little Extra! #get100extra

My husband has a huge beef with me.  I am notorious for leaving my car on very little gas.  This, sadly, is nothing new for me. I hate pumping gas and I tend to push it so far so I only stop at the very last possible moment for gasoline.  I've run out a couple times and close to it wayyyyyy too many times.

Perfect example, almost 2 years ago I was legit in labor having contractions two minutes apart, my husband trying to get me out the door and into the car to get.to.the.hospital. and we HAD TO STOP FOR GAS, so we could make it there!  It takes a good 30 minutes to get there with no traffic. We left our house at 10:46am, stopped for gas, and had a 10lb. baby in the hospital at 11:23am!   So extra gas would be nice...yeah I need to work on that.

When you have 6 people in your house, you're always running out of something. Toilet paper is probably my least favorite "something" to run out of.  The older kids know when they're refilling bathrooms with tp, that they need to let me know when we're down to at least 3 rolls left.  Anything less than that and yikes ---mama isn't happy!  There's not much worse than running out when you need it.  So if there's a way to get extra???  I'm in!

Scott® 1000 bath tissue has big news! Their long lasting rolls now last even longer with an additional 100 sheets per roll at Sam's Club.
That’s more of the quality performance you love at the value you’ve come to expect. Scott® 1000 bonus pack is available online and in select clubs.

With one of the older kids telling me we were down to the last few rolls, it was time for a tp stock up! Violet and I headed off to Sam's Club for the Scott®1000 bonus pack of toilet paper and we picked up some grapes and other snacks to have on hand for the kids.

Violet wanted to help load up into the car though didn't find it fun that the Scott®1000 bonus pack was too heavy for her to pick up. :)

For even more savings,  download the FREE Ibotta app to earn $5 off Scott® 1000 Bonus Pack at Sam’s Club!  Who doesn't want some extra money back?

It's so easy!
1. Under Grocery, find Sam’s Club
2. Find Scott® 1000 $5 offer
3. Unlock rebate
4. Purchase Scott®1000 bonus pack at Sam’s Club
5. Scan receipt and upload to Ibotta
6. Earn $5


We've been  Sam's Club members since January of this year and have found it to be perfect for our large family! They carry the diapers we use for Violet, have the cutest holiday clothing for the girls, and some of the name brand clothing my picky teenager loves. We've found their boneless, skinless chicken breasts to be the best deal around and the extra in the package makes a lot of meals for my family! The membership more than pays for itself with exclusive savings on the things you need, the things you love and all sorts of unexpected things!

Sometimes when you're the little sister you just need extra to wipe your tears when you can't do everything your big sis does. ;)

Yay for not running out! 

When have you ever needed extra?