| Previous Week | Back Home | Next Week |

Journal Key:

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

4/11/13 (Thursday)

Steve and I had been talking lately about the innocence of youth. After picking Owen up today, I'm just not sure what I think.

Owen: I don't want to pick up Cara.

Me: What do you want to do?

Owen: Just go home.

Me: Oh. I would be sad! I would miss Cara. Would you miss Cara?

He admitted that he would. I thought what a good conversation that was to not tell Cara about.

We made it to ABC, got Cara, and got into the car. Cara got out a book as I buckled Owen in and we pulled away.

Owen: Cara?

Me: What is it, buddy?

Owen: I'm not talking to you!

Me: Oh, right, sorry. Carry on.

Owen: Cara? . . . Cara?

Cara: Yes?

Owen: Cara, when Mommy was holding my hand, and we were walking, do you know what? I said, I don't want to get Cara, and Mommy said, oh, I would be sad.

Conveniently, Cara didn't understand him and wasn't interested enough to follow up and find out what he was talking about.

4/12/13 (Friday)

This morning I pulled up at Yellow Brick Road with Owen and took the spot marked for expectant mothers and "persons with small children."

"This works," I said, mostly to myself. "I'm a person with a small child."

Owen piped up from the back seat: "Me too!"

Today was a special day, because it was Penguin Pandemonium at Cara's school. The entire second grade was involved. When we first got the flier, and asked Cara what it was, she was completely mystified. A few days later, however, she showed us a rhyme with movements which she'd learned, which was all about penguins, and we knew what was up.

We had thought that neither of us would be able to make it to the show, since it was at 2 on Friday; but I work from home on Fridays now, and it so happened that I had completed my hours for the week; so (with some coaxing from my wife) I went. I spotted Ron almost right away, who had also found himself available and had come by. We watched as the entire second grade class (dressed in pseudo-penguin suits with construction paper tuxes and custom bow ties) filed up in rows to spout out penguin facts (did you know that if penguins don't eat, they die? did you know that penguins have little spines inside their mouths to help them eat slippery fish and krill? and so on). When Cara was handed the microphone, she did her duty admirably (did you know penguins have sleek bodies to help them swim?).

Afterwards we had a "craft" to do, which ultimately involved eating a couple of Oreos and some M&Ms with Cool Whip. The kids also got some snacks. I had not intended on taking her home, but everyone else was signing their kids out, so I did, too. We hung out at home for a bit until Mommy arrived to take her to dance.

It wasn't too much later before I went to pick up Owen. We had decided to go to Chili's, but Owen had a choice of whether to stay at home with me or go to Barnes and Noble and hang out there until Mommy and Cara were ready. He went with the book store, so he could get another dose of super hero books. In fact, he was not very interested in leaving the book store when the time came, but I got him out of there and we all had a nice evening.

4/13/13 (Saturday)

Today we were outside for a bit. Christine has been cleaning out Juliana's house and was having a garage sale; Owen ended up getting some new Matchbox cars. He was very excited about them and they became an outside toy. Cara left with Mommy in the middle of the day to take the little girl to a "princess party," and Owen went down for his nap. When he woke up, he wanted to go out and play with his cars. His method of play is somewhat inactive...he didn't want me to race the cars particularly, and he objected to my lining them up in color order. His main object seemed to be to hoard them and keep them in a pile.

It was a little chilly, so I tried to convince him to put on a coat. Having failed in that, I brought the coat out anyway. Owen was prompted to sing a song: "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, doesn't need his coat."

In the late afternoon, after Cara got back from her princess party, divested herself of her fancy dress, tiara, legions of hairpins, and makeup, and had a chance to go around the block a little on her bike, Grandpapa came and whisked the children away for a sleepover.

4/14/13 (Sunday)

The kids went to Monmouth Museum. Here are Janet's recollections.

Two things I really savored today:

The big-sisterly care with which Cara escorted Owen to the top of the big tree in the museum, and brought him down again.

The gleeful way Owen seized the opportunity to show his Mom around a place he figured he knew better than she did.

Evelyn arrived to take the kids. I was back at the house clearing away our old computer desk and started to assemble a new one, so she kept them away for a bit. When they got back, she stayed with Owen outside for a while, then took him to the grocery store, to keep him from getting under foot. Cara, on the other hand, was a huge help. She got parts for me and very much enjoyed putting cam locks into various holes on the furniture.

4/15/13 (Monday)

I spent a lot of time hanging out with Owen yesterday. Outside, while Steve and Cara worked on the desk, I cut up the box it had come in. I felt a little bad, since it would have made a nice boat. Owen busily stole and piled up the pieces, though, calling them his "house." Some pieces, the flaps, were very long and skinny. I turned those into ramps for his cars to run down, and we had a nice time.

I did also haul him out to the store. As usual, we had an interesting talk in the car. "Mommy," said Owen, "at my school, the lollipops call my sunglasses my upside down glasses . . . and that's not very nice!" I let out some sort of choked reply. "Don't cry, Mommy," said Owen, "it's ok!"

At the grocery store he sat sideways in the cart. I realized, as I was pushing him around, that he was, in his best ominous voice, quoting the wicked queen from Snow White: "You know the penalty if you fail!" Owen does not know the penalty if he fails.

This morning Owen woke up and sat up in bed. He was unhappy about his feet. Steve asked him what was wrong with them. "They have toenails on them!" He's actually been having me trim his nails lately; I've done his fingers, and I've actually done his big toes. No one is allowed to touch his little toes. Soon, we may have to hold him down and get them.

Claire came up for dinner and was, of course, extremely popular. She had to read to Owen, which she did by deliberately, blatantly misidentifying all of the super heroes in his book. Owen gleefully corrects her. She feels it's better than actually reading the words.

Owen interrupted me while I brushed his teeth. He wanted to tell me that several people at school today were throwing things at his head. They were playing nicely. Actually, monsters came to Yellow Brick Road. All of his friends ran away. He ran away, too. The monsters caught him. Actually, Wonder Woman came with her lasso and saved him. The monsters wanted to breathe fire on Yellow Brick Road. Wonder Woman stopped them. All of his friends ran to say thank you. (Minimal prompting was involved.)

4/16/13 (Tuesday)

This morning Owen said “You are Owen and I am Daddy!” I said that if that were true, he needed to drop me off and then drive to work. I suggested there would be several obstacles. But he was taken with this idea and said that he needed to drop me off. Once we were in YBR he did not try to pursue it, though. When he walked in, about four little girls yelled “OWEN!” He covered his face with his hands, and one of them (Sophia?) came over to try to forcefully pull his hands away.

4/17/13 (Wednesday)

Owen really loves his little box of cars. Yesterday he brought them outside to play again. He sat and amused himself with them on the sidewalk while I watched Cara riding her bike. He'd line them up next to each other and then push some of them along, sort of moving them in formations. Eventually, they all decided to "hide in the bushes" and he tossed them into the ivy. Eventually he got them out.

They didn't seem to be around when we got home today, so he had to take other vehicles out with him. Fortunately, we happened to have a few other cars and things that would do. The kids went out together while I made dinner. I walked down to get something from the pantry, and I could hear Owen. I peeked out, and he was sitting on the front walk, right by the door, playing with his cars, while Cara skipped around out on the sidewalk.

The bigger kids do a very nice job taking care of Owen. Today, while they ate their dinner (at a picnic in the living room), they taught him how to eat corn on the cob.

| Previous Week | Back Home | Next Week |