Making Life Great - With Your Family

My husband and I have an adorable 2 and a half year old son. He was perfectly potty trained in March. We went away for three nights and he became perfectly UNpotty trained. We have spent the last month REpotty training him.

He is as adventurous as they come. Always climbing, running and jumping, there is no adventure too grand for him - except eating green vegetables. One of his favorite adventures is climbing into the open dryer. I am a pretty fun-loving, if it won't kill him why not sort of mom, so I have never stopped him. Who doesn't love creative play that doesn't include a screen?

On one particular afternoon not too long ago, he decided to climb into the dryer and cuddle up with the freshly clean (no longer hot) laundry. Judging by my introduction to this post, you may imagine where this story is going. From the back bedroom I heard my 2 year old cry out, "MOM! PEE PEE!" I'm sure you can imagine the horror on my face when I realized where he was. Hoping he was still fiercely contracting his urinary muscles, I ran to the laundry room, pulled him out of the dryer and found a soaked little bottom and a nice yellowish puddle.

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Immediately wanting to yell and scold my son and "teach him a lesson," I stopped myself. Screaming was not the solution. I set him down, took a few steps and a very deep breath. After putting him on the potty, I took another deep breath, knelt down, looking him directly in the eye and calmly said, "Son, we go in the potty, not in the dryer."

 People are more important than things. Clothes can be washed again. Toddlers have accidents, but I choose  the way I handle situations. This is how I chose to make my family life great . . . even if it means a few extra loads of laundry and disinfecting the clothes dryer.

How have you made your life great with your family lately?