Joey is potty-training Elysha

Late in the afternoon, Elysha wanted to wear underwear. So I made sure she understood that she had to pee or poop in the potty. I told her if she felt pee pee coming out, that she needed to tell me or grandma (my aunt) that she had to potty. Then Joey said that she could help! So before their bath, Elysha was sitting on the potty and Joey was "reading" the potty books to Elysha. Then Joey started to say, "shhhh" which is what Koreans say to help kids with their potty training--you know, like the sound of water. And then Joey started making grunting noises and said, "Elysha, do this. Grrrr. Grrrr." It was so cute.

I don't know if I'm being too hard on Joey but I really expect her to not lead Elysha down the road of trouble, or to stop Elysha if Elysha decides to take that path on her own. Today, they decided to "clean" their bathroom and their room by taking liquid soap and smearing it everywhere. I was so upset to find soap all over their furniture in their room and in the bathroom. I was much harder on Joey, telling her that she should know better. Joey looked really solemn when I disciplined her and Elysha looked upset at me that I even deigned to tell her what to do. I alternately feel bad for Joey having to be responsible for her younger siblings but at the same time, I feel that she should be. There are times that I feel the gravity of my responsibilities as the parent of three children. I can really screw things up and through bad parenting, create little monsters who will grow up and totally break my heart. This is where I see God's grace being SO important in my life. Truly, but for the grace of God...please don't let my inadequacies as a mother cause my children to become debauched individuals.

On a lighter note...my son is a genius! =) Today, he was opening and closing his fist like he was saying bye bye. So I started to do it back to him. Then when I made the motion, he would raise his hand and do "bye bye" again. I'm sure it is just coincidence but still, I would rub his belly and say "good job!" and he would smile really big and laugh. I could just eat him up!