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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

4/19/12 (Thursday)

Yesterday, the first thing I noticed about Owen when I got there to pick him up was how dramatically mulchy he was. Today, it was that he was blue all around his mouth! The teachers explained that he had somehow bitten his lip, and I thought that it was an unrelated story, but it turned out that they had given him a blue popsicle because he was bleeding. All of the other children had immediately attempted to wound themselves similarly.

The blueness drew attention away from the mulchiness, which, while it didn't reach yesterday's heights of insanity and his hair wasn't full of it, was still fairly impressive. He even smelled mulchy. I have to ask what kind of mulch it was; occasionally this evening I thought I was detecting a somewhat pleasant pine scent.

Everyone had worked late, so we got Wendy's for dinner. I made a clumsy attempt to do some good parenting and offered Owen some ketchup. Em and Ron always think to suggest it to him, but we almost never do. However, in spite of our combined best efforts, he refused to try it. He ate his french fries plain. Owen contributed to our dinner conversation. He told us that his french fry was the pirate king. Then he ate it. Then the next one was also the pirate king. We had to sing "hurrah for the pirate king."

After Owen's bath, I carried him to his room in his towel. He really likes his towel. When he was diapered, I put him and his towel down on the floor. He was excited to have his towel.

Owen: I will not be scared tonight!

Me: What?

Owen: I not scared. Of the monsters!

I was flabbergasted. I went to get his toothbrush. When I got back, he said, "The monsters be scared, to Owen!"

Flabbergasted.

Anyway, I got him into his pajamas and brushed his teeth and all, and Cara wanted to read him a book. She read him two, including Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Steve and I helped her, from outside the room, with a few of the words in that one, but it turned out that she was sitting on the ottoman and reading it to him upside down, holding it so that he could see the pictures. She'd have kept going, but it was time for everyone to get to the next step in the going-to-bed process. I read him a book and put him down, perfectly happily, without the towel that was going to protect him from monsters.

4/20/12 (Friday)

For family fun night, I picked up the kids from their respective places. When Cara and I took Owen outside, we got to meet Miss Sandi! She was happy to see us and Owen was happy to see her. She somehow ended up feeding slices of pepper to my children, which one of them had taken for lunch and was carrying in a tupperware container. Evelyn made spaghetti and meatballs and we had cookies for dessert. Owen had one--chocolate chunk, from a school fundraiser--and chocolated himself up good. Then he wanted another, but he got too upset by how messy he was to finish it.

4/21/12 (Saturday)

Today we went out for breakfast, our excuse being that I had lately discovered an IHOP gift card in my wallet (which turned out to have about $2 left on it--ha ha). The kids were good, though Owen was a bit (gleefully) loud, since he doesn't yet understand the "inside voice" concept. However it occurred to me that he must hear people telling him to be quiet all the time, because I remember the teachers at YBR saying that they are always telling him that at nap time.

In the afternoon we went down to Grandmama's house. "Do you want to go to Grandma's house?" asked Evelyn. "No!" said Owen. He wanted to go to Grandpa's house. Later I think he switched that up, as well, just so he could continue contradicting us. Though it was a bit chilly, we brought some whiffle balls and bats with us, and all took turns swinging with them. Cara managed to hit a few balls, but of course Owen spent his time holding a bat the wrong way and waving it indiscriminately.

Cara insisted on running through the hose on principle (and perhaps because she had just gotten a new swimsuit); Owen on reflection decided he wanted the water enough to get into his own trunks, but didn't actually get very wet.

We had toyed with the idea of having both kids sleepover, but in the end we decided it was better to take the little one home with us. By the time we left, he was guaranteed to fall asleep in the car anyway. Cara got to have her grandparents to herself for the evening and part of the next morning.

4/22/12 (Sunday)

Owen got us up very early this morning, a little before 5--the real drawback to not doing the double sleepover. We watched half of several programs on TV, because Owen kept deciding he wanted something else before the thing we were watching was over, and because both of his parents were in a zombie-like state and ready to acquiesce to anything. Eventually I shook myself awake enough to play some He-Mans with him.

The buddy has been somewhat overly tragic lately--he was especially horrible when he woke up from his nap today. Cara and I had gone out to see a movie, so poor Mommy was stuck dealing with him for a while until they went to the grocery store. He was much better there, and Mommy had brought not one, not two, but three bendable Santa figures for Owen to enjoy.

Owen has another new toy, because Evelyn decided that Owen should have some action figures that are not thirty years old and losing their limbs (poor He-Mans)! She purchased a Green Lantern action figure that is basically a giant, translucent, green...thing. His name was written on the packaging, but we have since thrown it away and forgotten what it said. So he is, inevitably, the Green Guy, which I'm sure is a much better name than the one he had. Owen likes his Green Guy.

4/23/12 (Monday)

It was haircut-at-school day! We sent Owen in with five dollars and signed him up. Honestly, I guess I can tell that it got cut, but I don't see a dramatic difference. When I brought him in to ABC to get Cara, though, the first thing Miss Debbie did was to tell him how cute his haircut was.

Dinner was something of a comedy of errors. It was taco night. Owen started with a piece of quesadilla and a little dab of refried beans, but he soon cast his eyes out over the rest of the table. He wanted some pasta! It was actually shredded cheese, but when Steve put some on his plate he ate it and wanted more. When I went to get Cara a taco, he insisted that he wanted one, too. I got him one with meat, cheese, and lettuce, and I held it for him while he ate it, fortunately not objecting to my hand being there. He kept eating when he got past the just-the-shell part. "I eating grass!" he told us, noticing the lettuce. He ate about half of the taco before he was done. Then he started reaching for the next thing, which was the jar of jalapenos. He was distressed when we told him no, and he ended up in my lap, from where he could grab one from my plate. I took that from him and let him try a tiny piece. He didn't get upset by it, but by then he was really done with dinner. Fortunately, by that time Cara was done and took him off to play. I got to eat, too!

My favorite conversation with Owen lately:

Owen: Ahhh! I said, "Ahhh!"

Me: Did you say "ahhh"?

Owen: No, I said, "Ahhh!"

4/24/12 (Tuesday)

The exciting news from ballet was that I did not have to read the Bugs Bunny book this week! It's been a long time. We DID have to read about Fluffy the guinea pig's Valentine's Day twice, though.

I'm pretty sure that when Owen put on my ID badge he announced that he should be called "Mr. Owen."

While I was putting Owen back into the car afterwards, he said something about "silly pants." Later, while I was getting him ready for bed, it came out that he felt that he should be called "Mr. Silly Pants." It is possible that I have in the past called him this. It didn't sound quite so odd when I said it.

Boys are different from girls. Sometimes I'm just not sure what to make of him. He was carrying around his "brush-comb" this evening (it's really Cara's comb), and I picked up his toy microphone to distract him from going off to get his "guys." When I had drawn his attention to the microphone, he came right over. "We fight!" He hit the microphone with the comb repeatedly, crouching slightly and dramatically backing away. I decided that this was some sort of "boy thing."

4/25/12 (Wednesday)

Both of Owen's hands were clenched full of leaves when Cara and I got to the playground at YBR to pick him up. His face was a little green in patches, and a friendly older boy explained that he had been drawing with chalk. "Hold on," said the older boy, "I'll be right back. I want to get some more leaves for him." Sure enough, when we got back outside with Owen's lunchbox, Owen having gotten both up and down the stairs with his hands closed around his leaves and refused to carry his precious lunchbox because his hands were full, the boy came back over to me and handed me a little bundle of leaves. I dropped one, but he helpfully picked it up for me.

Out of a sense of duty, I suppose, or something, I did eventually get rid of my handful of leaves by handing it to Owen, who absorbed it into his collection.

Owen brought his leaves home. He went to visit his red wagon with them, and then he sat on the wall while Cara read him a story, all with hands full of leaves. He got through the front door with them. Eventually, they were deposited on the train table.

I should probably go throw those outside.

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