BOOKS-A-MILLION, PART I: THE GOOD NEWS

Bean potty trained herself a couple days after her third birthday with one notable exception: poo. She refused to poopy on the potty. I tried and tried to force it. I would leave her pantsless and then carry her to the potty when she started to go, only to have her straighten out her body like a board and scream hysterically until there was either a diaper on her bottom or a pile on the floor next to the toilet. I finally gave up, figuring she would eventually decide that she didn't like having poopy diapers; I just hoped that she wouldn't be in high school before that happened.

Then, three days ago, my perspective changed. After wrestling my stinky toddler to floor and changing her diaper while trying to keep her from kicking me in the head, followed by two hours of screaming that she didn't want a diaper change, I decided that it was once again time to force the issue.

Cakes had already poopied on the potty twice. So, in an attempt to reward Cakes' behavior and encourage continued potty-pooing, and to light a fire under Bean, we resorted to bribery. We told the girls we would take a trip to Books-A-Million so Cakes could pick out a "Poopy Prize." It did the trick; Bean was determined to poopy on the potty.

At Books-A-Million, Cakes picked out a train (of course - the girl is obsessed with trains) as her "Poopy Prize," and went on to join Bean at the Thomas the Train table for a leisurely afternoon of play. Big Daddy and I took turns watching the girls while the other wandered the store, looking at books and periodicals.

About an hour into our play time, Bean suddenly started to waddle and say in a panicky voice, "I have to go poopy! I need a diaper!" I swooped her up and carried her to the bathroom, explaining that we don't use diapers anymore and that she was going to poopy on the potty. I encountered surprisingly little resistance, I think due mostly to the fact that she had begun to expel her excrement before she was securely seated on the potty. My girl did beautifully, and she is officially out of diapers!

We ran back to Big Daddy and Cakes, waiting for us at Thomas the Train's station, and excitedly gave the news. Bean picked out a puzzle as her "Poopy Prize," and we gathered our things together to pay and go home. That's when the bad news hit ...