| Previous Week | Back Home | Next Week |

Journal Key:

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

5/9/13 (Thursday)

Owen and I both agreed that it was very yucky out this morning. His toy cars were getting wet! He couldn’t get into the car because there was a puddle! I carried him and jogged into YBR because it would have taken far too long to pick our way amongst all the puddles in the parking lot. When we got inside, Sophia tried to tell him something. It had to do with a birthday, possibly, and she was wagging her finger at him. He completely ignored her and turned around to look at me. “Daddy, my dog got sprayed by a skunk!”

5/10/13 (Friday)

In the car on the way home from YBR, Owen told me about his day.

Child A had punched him, so he had punched Child A. Then they both got time out.

Then Child B had punched him, and he had punched Child B. Time out.

I expressed the idea that he should not punch anyone, even if they punched him first. I had to express this a few times. Then he changed his tune.

Child C, Child D, Child E, and Child F had punched him in the head and the face. And they got time out. More punching. More time outs. Three time outs! Miss Amanda had punched him. Teachers don't get time out, he says, but she put herself in time out.

It went on and on and on. Eventually, he said, "that started to hurt!"

5/11/13 (Saturday)

The kids and I went out grocery shopping this morning. We spent a lot of time exclaiming "kalaka!" in the Farmers Market, which embarrassed Cara. I love it, though, that they sort of entertain themselves, and I can do the shopping. Mother's Day always makes me want to be all motherish, so I liked taking them out. We bought lots of good fruits and veggies and also some not-so-good snacks at the grocery store.

In the afternoon, we eventually had to wake Owen up. Once he was at least somewhat conscious, we got in the car and headed to Middletown. Owen told everyone at dinner about all of the punching that had happened at school. He also engaged in some existential debate about the nature of hunger. Could one not be hungry for dinner but still be hungry for a treat? Owen's arguments are inconsistent.

When we finally did sit down for dessert, Owen preferred fresh raspberries to the actual confections. When his fruit was done, he left.

It was late when we left! Somehow, Owen stayed awake in the car the whole way home. It was probably 9:30 by the time he was down, safe in his own bed again.

5/12/13 (Sunday)

For Mother's Day breakfast, I made crepes. While I was cooking, I heard Steve in the living room, coaching the kids, telling Owen to say "Happy Mother's Day!" In they came, in their pajamas, each holding a corner of the card. They were so happy! "It says 'O' for Owen!" cried Owen, pointing out the big "Mom!"

Alas, later, when it was time to get Owen dressed, he melted down completely. I took his pajamas off of him against his will, and he spent literally 45 minutes screaming about it. When he finished, we'd already been in the car, driving to south Jersey, for a good 10 minutes. Five minutes after he stopped crying, he was asleep. I think, though, that my having set him off and stood fast and been somewhat disciplinarian made him very snuggly with me for the rest of the afternoon! I got to carry him into the restaurant and cuddle him and carry him through the buffet line. It was nice.

We went back to Griffin's house for some play time after lunch. Owen hung out for a while inside Griff's cardboard house. Steve had to sit in there and read to him. Uncle Jim came and knocked on the door and delivered a requested bowl of animal crackers. "It's the cookie man," I pointed out. As Jim left, I reminded Owen of what he should say. "Thank you," he called, adding, "Thank you, cookie man!"

Just as Griff likes Owen's toys when he comes here, Owen really liked playing with Griffin's guys. Fortunately, Griffin had no problem with this. Fortunately, Owen didn't try to take any home.

It was late, around 4:30, when we got back, but Steve went outside to clean out my car for me for Mother's Day. No child was interested in helping. They were interested in helping me plant the little flowers Cara had bought me at the Mother's Day plant sale at school. It's a good thing we own three trowels. Well, maybe it's a good thing. Owen used his to pick up dirt and put it in places Cara and I didn't want him to: in the grass, on other plants, on the stones that make up our little path. He really enjoyed it.

Cara, of course, was excited about getting out the hose. Owen helped. He may actually have been helpful. She watered every possible plant and then the two of them started to use the hose to fill up the backs of the two construction vehicle toys we've been keeping outside. Owen was delighted about using the hose for the first time. I did stop him as he was carefully aiming the nozzle at his face and reaching for the trigger.

They wanted to make a pool for Owen's guys, and I brought them out a bucket to fill. All of the guys went into it. They built a water slide for the guys. Both kids got wet. Eventually they came in and took off Owen's shoes, and then there was some argument. He wanted to go back out, barefoot. Why? He wanted, Cara explained, to put his feet in the water. Because she had. He had long pants on his short legs; she had capris on her long ones. It was Mother's Day. I got the camera and followed him.

He really soaked himself, while I had Cara start putting away the hose. He followed to try to get her to take it out again, so he could fill his bucket some more. Fortunately, he then noticed that it was really cold out there, if you were soaking wet. In we went to get warm!

5/13/13 (Monday)

It was an exciting day at YBR: a pipe broke in the basement, so the Munchkins and Lollipops had to go across the street to the Baby Brick for a while. Miss Sandi was very happy to see them. It was so exciting that Owen was on the no-nap list for, as far as I know, the first time.

That wasn't what he told me about when I got there, though. He told me that Maeve had punched him and he had punched her and then he'd gotten a time-out. He repeated this story to Miss Vina, who was shocked.

"Who gave you time-out?" she asked him.

"You did!"

I got to talk with Miss Grace a little, too. Owen urgently beckoned me after him and came and pulled my hand and drew me down the hall. Turning, he gestured repeatedly at the door frame. He was webbing it shut.

For a change of pace, we went out to dinner with Aunt Claire. We all met at the I-HOP. We hit a little traffic getting there, which was good. Owen, having had no nap, had fallen asleep.

5/14/13 (Tuesday)

Today I went to pick up Owen, and noticed right away that his hair was filled with debris. The kids had been playing outside. "My friends put dirt in my hair!" Owen explained. He couldn't wait to give me the long list of who had pushed who, although in the original version I don't believe he had gotten into any trouble. When his mother asked him later it turned out he did get a time-out.

5/15/13 (Wednesday)

Poor Owen woke up this morning interested in going to someone's house. He seemed open to our deciding where, but he definitely wanted to go. Alas, that is not one of the things that we generally do at seven in the morning.

This evening, when I walked into the back yard at YBR, Miss Vina saw me and announced, "I did not give your son a time-out this afternoon!" In fact, no one had. We asked Owen. Had he had a time-out? No, he had not!

The kids at YBR have been fascinated by some ants going up and down a tree. Often, they find that they have to run from the ants. Owen ran from the ants, but then he came back. He had made himself sort of a little hollow in the mulch by the tree, in which he was sitting very comfortably. The teachers report that he had been "sleeping" there, too. His clothes and hair confirm that assertion.

On the way to the car, we had a discussion about whether bugs are bad.

| Previous Week | Back Home | Next Week |