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Journal Key:

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

11/14/13 (Thursday)

We had breakfast for dinner. I got to YBR and told Owen that this was the plan. He protested that it was night time and that we had to have dinner. I reassured him that breakfast-for-dinner is an accepted practice. He enjoyed eggs and pancakes, even though it was dark out! It was pretty amazing.

11/15/13 (Friday)

When I got to YBR, Owen exclaimed, "It's dark out: we have to have breakfast!!" This worked out, because the rest of us were getting takeout that he would not like. He had eggs and pancakes and was mystified as to why we were not joining him.

11/18/13 (Monday)

For some reason, our regular Monday egg-dinner has never struck him as breakfast at the wrong time. As usual, he ate a great dinner. Somehow, between the time we went out to get Cara and the time when I finally got him down, we logged four pretty decent tantrums. I really hope that every time we don't give in to his demands is one step closer to him being reasonable. I really, really, really hope.

11/19/13 (Tuesday)

Well I guess we've been busy, but also Owen has been a trial, which is probably what's kept us from writing in the journal as much. This week we've tried instituting some new structured rules for the kids that I think are helping. First of all, I tried to implement a restrictive rule for the amount of TV we watch in the morning. Evelyn had the additional idea of withholding TV until both kids are dressed. The hard part is that the kids get up at different times, so coordinating this can be tricky. This morning Owen bypassed the system somewhat by watching multiple (albeit several were partial, not full) episodes on his Nook, which he can work himself--unlike the TV remote. But we still got dressed and out the door in fairly good time, so I guess you can call it a win for the team.

The other thing we've done is in the realm of the potty, where Owen is still struggling. It would be nice to be able to say he is only struggling at YBR, but we've had ample evidence and laundry loads to show that is not the case. We have had to be more vigilant at home, but also we've made a deal with him. Every day he comes home in the same pair of pants we sent him in, he gets a sticker. When he gets five stickers, he gets a prize. There was some argument over whether he should get a "guy" or a "figure," which mostly showed that Owen doesn't know what a "figure" is. But anyway, so far that seems to be working also, since he has two stickers to show for his two days at YBR this week. Here's hoping the trend continues!

Tonight, after a lot of complaining and moaning, I also convinced Owen to sit on the potty and poop. It appears that part of his objection to pooping is that the toilet seat is still too big for him, so we pulled his potty seat out of storage and got the job done. Whew!

11/19/13 (Wednesday)

It's fall. That means a lot of things in our lives. It means that, the other day, Owen insisted to Cara and me that the next day was going to be "Halloween again." It means that it's dark out when I pick the kids up, so Owen is convinced that there should be Christmas lights. It means leaves on the ground.

There were leaves on the ground right by the curb when he and I were leaving Barnes and Noble on Tuesday. He really wanted to jump in them. It was a busy parking lot at night. I let him very briefly walk through them. Afterwards, when he was back up on the sidewalk, I told him that I was glad he was a good listener. "I'm not," said Owen.

There were leaves this evening in the schoolyard at Lindeneau. I couldn't get Owen to come in with me to get Cara. He was out there up to his ankles in leaves, whapping them with his hat. I popped in to sign Cara out and then watched him. He stayed in those leaves, running around, kicking them, and beating them with his hat with great enthusiasm. Cara came out, got into the car, and had to wait while I convinced him to leave. "The light still needs me!" he cried, referring for some reason to the street light. I promised that he could come back another day.

Back at home, the kids had some yogurt before we went to PJ's for dinner. Owen discovered that for some reason there were a lot of leaves in his hat. He helpfully shook them out onto the kitchen floor.

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