a good day

There are days where things change, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. Today was a day when things improved. The general trend right now is that R has a serious case of the whininess and K is quite bossy. But we are able to laugh often (which is more about our ability to manage stress than about their behavior sometimes). The morning was uneventful and we got dad off to his meeting and mom to the post office and to work by 9:30. They were not exactly pleasant but we felt ok about everyone by the time we got to school.

One of R's classmates, Alexandra was walking when we got there and that helped him transition and be cheery about going in. It did not hurt that there was a planned field trip to joe's market for ice cream in the works. K had a more difficult time as Bung. C seemed a little short-staffed. but Tricia came to the rescue.

Of course, reception on pick up is another issue. R screamed and hollered and resisted like nobody's business when i got there. I tried the getting-down-on-his-level/let's communicate-and-talk-about-what-we-want-and-have-to-do. Nope. He was making a troll home with ezra which was amusing (does he know what a troll is?). and he was waiting for his turn in the castle room. i guess the good part is that he likes being there. the bad part is that since he can't tell time, he can never anticipate us coming and get ready to transition. perhaps we should by him a watch to wear. kristen promised that he and a friend could be first in the castle tomorrow. and i got some details about going to the pool tomorrow morning. i did learn that there were no ice cream during the field trip as the freezer was broken but everyone had cookies. apparently there was another dance party (the class note mentions the dances "the freeze," "Tooty Ta," and "mother gooney bird"). i mentioned that he has been very whiny this week and she said that it has been the whole bungalow. well it helped to know that it is not just him. not that it does not make me feel like a bad parent half the time anyway, but sometimes it helps to know whininess is a contagion.

K seemed to have a good day. The toddlers got to go to the preschool playground and my girl loves the big school bus there. Apparently she also "cooked" in the kitchen and talked on the phone. She also drew pictures and when asked what the drawing was, replied "khayaal." Self-portrait, age 2 on the magna-doodle. watch out art world!

Well whiny kid was crying and screaming all the way to the car and K was wanting to be carried and then wandering off the sidewalk into the street (a new behavior). i got discombulated and locked the keys in the trunk. luckily dad could come to the rescue. while we waited in the lobby, R threw himself around the room whenever he could get what he wanted (the book that K picked up first, the spot that K sat down first, etc.). Luckily, we ran into aunt tracey, gabe, and nathaniel. Everyone went for a drink of water and literally cooled down and became happy. by the time dad had arrived the whininess was declining to a manageable amount.

We were late to swimming but the kids were excited. K did not scream and refuse to go in as soon as we got to the parking lot so that was an improvement. she did scream, however, quite a bit in the water whenever i did something she did not approve of, which was often. R is like a fish. he swallows water but jumps, ducks, kicks, and scoops with gusto. it is very heartening to see that he is comfortable and likes the water. that was the goal of the course and we seem to have been successful. i think both will be ready for the beach. K was scared of the fountains and mushroom shower. she liked the spouts after class. R was right in the middle of the mushroom shower soaking it all up. she warmed up to walking in the pool and throwing her ring with pleasure. R has passed this level of swimming class (parent-tot) and is ready for independent classes!

We went for french fries while dad fetched his computer after the YWCA. R insisted that he wanted a mcD milkshake which mom has been denying. I explained that it was not good for his body and would not help him grow and that i would be happy to make him a milkshake at home (mine are Haagen Daz ice cream and orange juice). He told me that he likes theirs better. I told him that there was no vanilla or ice cream in those milkshakes, just chemicals. well this conversation sparked a desire to see the machines that make vanillin the chemical as well as another fifty questions about what is good for your body, about vanillin, about chemicals, machines that make chemicals, etc. the patter of conversation is quite clear: you say a statement, there is a 5 second pause as he contemplates it, and out comes another question. you answer that question, 5 second pause, ding, another question.

all my discussions of chemicals did not dissuade him and when we got to the drive-thru window, he wanted to tell them that he wanted a milkshake. i pointed to a police car and said well that would be breaking the rules and remember breaking the rules is not a good thing. when people break the law, the police have to come and try to give them consequences. we talked about how rules and laws were similar but laws were enforced by the police and were very important rules for everyone: like no hitting or stealing. i told him that companies had to pay the workers or that was not fair. and that people could not hit each other or people could not steal each other's things. well he had a million questions about laws. including the following. "do people have to wear helmets?" answer: "in some states, motorcyclists have to wear helmets. in most states, bicyclists do not even though it is safer for them to do so. seat belts are required in minnesota."

R: "what if your seat belt is broken or someone steals your seat belt." Me: "you have to go to the mechanic and replace it."
The arrival of the french fries (and what are french fries mommy?) stopped the conversation about rules temporarily. He did tell me as we pulled into the drive-thru lane that he was very smart, smarter than me. and then he added smarter than daddy too. well there you have it.

dinner was calm and pleasant. everyone got their desired milkshakes and ate their food. k and i went upstairs afterwards and took a bath. she and i had great fun "reading in bed." K held her book intentionally upside down and pretended to read. She also asked for water a million times, crawled all over me, checked out her balance by standing on the bed and bouncing while saying "jump jump,' and overall being a little shrieky goofball. r and his dad took a trip next door to visit lovette the cat and then took a bath. he was quite happy at bedtime and i read a magic tree house book. unfortunately, i was falling asleep and know that a lot of nonsense came out of my mouth as i mentioned manhattan and jelly but the story was about a tornado in kansas. we did however manage to snuggle and i think he was close to being asleep at 10 or shortly after. if we can get him to sleep by 9:30 i am happy to call that a good goal for now.