Fast forward one week and Sunday found us scrambling to get from church to the opening hour of "Move It! Dig It! Do It!" an annual festival of vehicles whose proceeds benefit our Children's Museum. Last year's event was somewhat marred for our crew by the incessant honking of horns. Edward is still not too fond of loud noises, but was willing to clap his hands over his ears and run from truck to bus to tractor. Our favorite Hills firefighter was there and remembered Ed from the county fair in July, so that was a big hit. (His memory was likely aided by the fact that after the fair John had sent a note of thanks to the general email account for the City of Hills and it was forwarded on to the firefighter, who wrote John an effusive note saying how much it meant to hear from us. John then sent a couple of pictures, and we now have a firefighter friend for life along with an open invitation to tour the station.)
Our camera isn't quite sophisticated to capture an image of a large machine in which you can still see the kid, so here's Daniel way up in a huge combine. John had to carry him up a ladder to get into the cab. Ed is behind him with his hands over his ears. Too many horns honking.
While Edward tried out the tractor, Grandpa took Daniel to the city bus, the vehicle with which is is most ardently obsessed. Grandpa reported that after Daniel climbed up and took a seat he kept leaning forward saying "Go go!" He did not appreciate a stationary vehicle. He thinks the bus takes you to the library because we've created a Saturday adventure this way a few times this summer.
This is the "Dig It!" part of the day--huge piles of sand to climb on and dig in. This of course led to streams of sand to be poured out of shoes before heading home.
Ironically, with all the real-life vehicles on display, our kids were most excited about a collection of Cozy Coupe cars to drive over a bumpy gravel lot. Ed was most enthralled with these "fire cars," but they actually got in and out of several different models. We flamed out after about 90 minutes and headed home for naps. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Daniel asleep in his car seat still clutching the plastic "hard hat" issued to each kid at the gate.And now for the third Sunday, a description of which does not include photographs, came close to including child abandonment, but ends happily. We have been battling some annoying behavior tics the last week or so, which we know can be attributed to age, peer influence, and our vehement disapproval. However, understanding the source(s) does not make it any less irritating in the moment. The primary offenders are spitting and screaming. We actually battled the scream/shrieking earlier this summer, but it's back with a vengeance and can seriously drive a person insane, especially when the two boys are trying to outdo each other. Last time around we eventually hit upon "ignore" as a solution. But this time, combined with the spitting, it's just too much to bear. We have tried time-outs. We have tried "no TV" or "no computer." We have tried leaving the room. We have tried saying "that is bathroom behavior so you'll have to stay in the bathroom if you want to do that." (This is one of the school strategies. How can pre-school teachers put up with this all day every day times 12 kids????)
Part of the problem is that Daniel is too young for actual punishment so Ed sees him getting off easy and thinks he can do the same. This morning both of them had their breakfasts taken away and were sent out of the room. Ed ended up deposited in his bedroom wailing at the injustice no less than three times before 9:30 mass! Miraculously, they actually were decently behaved at Mass (the "no computer" threat works for Ed there--when he starts acting up, I tell him he won't do computer when we get home and he settles, usually.) When we got home, they played for a little while, but lunch was a repeat of breakfast and we were about to lose our minds.
Finally, during the peace of nap time (hallelujah!) I came up with the "divide and conquer" solution. We know that they feed off of each other--one starts and the other tries to go one better. They both laugh their heads off as we seethe and eventually explode. So we came up with a plan that gave each of us one-on-one time with each boy and kept them separated from each other. Ed got up from his nap first and he and I left to get new shoes, some art supplies for a school project, and groceries. At the store, when I told Ed we were getting hamburger buns, he asked if we could also have s'mores. Ingredients were purchased with the hope that such a delight could induce a calm dinner.
When we got back, John had the grill prepped for a burger dinner, which we ate in relative peace. Daniel still screamed and spit a bit, but each time we looked at Ed and warned him not to join or there would be no s'mores. He kept it together. Then "because he screamed," Daniel did not get to have s'mores (of course he didn't know the difference, but Ed did) and instead went out for a walk with me. John and Ed stayed home to roast marshmallows, eat their treats, and decorate a letter F with pictures and objects that start with that letter (school project.)
Worked like a charm. Daniel and I got back around 7, had a little more play time, and then hit the bathtub. The only hiccup was extending the playtime a little too long so that bath time ended in tears of exhaustion.
Whew! Sometimes weekends are all about survival. And sometimes it's really tough to be smarter than your kids!
In other news, Edward started swimming lessons this last week and seems to like it. He's leery about full face immersion in the water, but has made some valiant attempts. After last week's lesson, I told him he could spit in the water and it would help him blow bubbles. We'll see if that works. Maybe he could get the spitting out of his system that way! There are four kids in his group with one teacher and they have their lesson in the shallow wading pool at the community center, which is nice because the kids can stand in the water. At this point, it's mostly about safety and feeling comfortable in the water, but the idea is to give him the building blocks for actual swimming. As long as he's happy, and willing to go, I'm satisfied. (These pictures were taken through the window from the parent waiting area, hence the low quality.)
