there are days that start and end well with a lot of griping in between. this was not one of those days. it was the opposite.
r and the clothes situation is getting worse rather than better. as we try to stop hovering over, doing it for, or nagging him while he dresses, it is getting worse. we have simplified the process as much as possible and it is still getting worse. mornings and bedtimes are just perplexing. he will sit in the recliner in his room for a half hour by himself just doing nothing. it is just down right puzzling why he doesn't want to get dressed in 5 minutes and get on with something else. inevitably this puts us in a crabby mood because it should not be so hard to put on your clothes and shoes.
today we was the last swimming class at the yw. because of r's clothing we were all about 10 minutes late. it was cold and rainy as well. but we were pretty chipper in going to class. k enjoys the water and r really is comfortable. however, i have not been thrilled with the classes as i feel they do not give enough attention and challenge to the kids. they seem playful but less skill oriented than i would like. in light of this, we are going to try a different swimming school, one that oddly enough happens to be in a mall. we went last week for a test run and were impressed with the style of teaching and the emphasis on mastering skills. while i may not want my education system to teach to the test, for swimming, i do want my kids to love the water and master the technical aspects of swimming safely and strongly. i think the FOSS lessons might be very helpful in this way. we did not stay a long time in swimming because r was shivering in the pool and k was not as interested as usual. so after some warm showers, we headed out to our next event -- a birthday party for one of r's friends on the st paul campus.
what should have been a simple expedition took over 45 minutes as an entire stretch of the interstate was closed as well as the appropriate exit on another highway. after the 3rd detour, dad and i were enjoying ourselves. we did finally reach our destination where the kids enjoyed some bowling, pizza, cake, and running around with friends.
afterwards we decided to go run an errand that took us to suburbs far far away. we went to coon rapids (don't ask why) to buy a bike for r. as part of our OT goals for the summer, we have decided that handwriting, swimming , and biking are the three activities that we would focus on to help r get stronger and prepare for kindergarten. so he got his first bike. on the way home, both kids were asleep and we stopped for some groceries.
the afternoon brought some snack time, blues clues, and dad working on the pond in the cold cold rain. k called her nani to discuss the weather, her bowling, and swimming class. after the popcorn and entertainment, r and k joined dad outside. k came back because it was cold and played while i cleaned and made dinner. r and dad came in cold and wet. the kids sat down to a dinner of rice, saag paneer, and tofu pot pie. while dad and i also had bakri (a flat indian bread) and malai kofta. dinner was wonderful. k asked at one point if her brother was eating saag paneer. and when we answered yes, she requested some. so she ate saag paneer and rice. r ate that along with the malai kofta. k also dipped her bakri into the saag paneer and ate it. it was a delight. r very much enjoys it when we hide the paneer in the saag and he has to search for it. he asked me to hide it and then say in a mocking voice "you will never find it now. ha ha ha." this went on for quite a while until both of them ate the entire package! k then proceeded to use tissues and her water to "clean" the table. it was a nice meal.
afterwards we did some art work and got the kids upstairs to bed. we hit the clothing wall again. r chose not to dress himself for about 20-30 minutes and thus missed his reading time 2 nights in a row. he finally did dress when he was told that he would not achieve his cooperation star for the day. dad and i do not understand why this is so difficult. it is not a nice way to end the day. k, on the other hand, was quite happy in the evening. she brushed her teeth, read her books, and was happily tucked in.
i forgot to mention last night that she was telling me about her day. she discussed how the preschoolers went to the big park. she liked it a lot and wants to take her family there: masee, tom, re-re, cutie cat, rohan, mommy and daddy.
maybe if it gets warm enough, r can just go naked all the time. k would definitely like that.
No comments:
Post a Comment