Today was rough. Effie went with Dad to the clinic for a couple immunizations and a blood draw. The appointment went surprisingly well with just moderate tears at the time of injection and puncture but all was cleared away by stickers and dum-dums.
Nap time was not fun. 40 minutes total and lots of screaming. It's sad to know that your child is tired and probably hurting (sore from DTap). I know because I got my own Tetanus shot before we left for China and that sucker hurt for like 3 weeks.
So, knowing that, I suspected that the hours leading up to dinner would be torturous, but I was wrong. We got in some good quality time as the Three Musketeers. Effie, Jack and Mommy all made homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. It took nearly an hour and both kids sat up in the kitchen and watched my every move and listened carefully to each explanation. Adding pinches of ingredients themselves, they were thrilled to participate. Of course, there was snacking along the way to keep them interested. Very THINLY sliced apples, a Cheerio or two. They even got to test out the noodle to let me know when they were just beyond al dente. Little boy tells me daily that when he grows up he'll be a famous cook and he'll make me "Cheesy Noodles" then he'll bring them to me and say, "Here's your Cheesy Noodles Mommy!" I say, "Whoa! You're going to be an amazing Chef!" He had a blast.
There was one little glitch in this scene. Hopefully my description can help to explain the pure anger I was feeling at the situation. Lately, we've been awarding point to Jack for things he's already expected to do, but we give points for doing them without whining and without help, such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, feeding the dog, going poop (this one is worth a lot of points) and many others that are starting to make our lives a whole lot easier. He has been doing extremely well. So, with that in mind, tonight while I had two pots a bubblin' on the stove top and Effie up in her highchair watching me cook, I asked Jack to do me a simple favor. I gave him a small pile of 2 hand towels and 2 washcloths. I asked him if he would please take them up to the kids' bathroom upstairs and lay them on the counter next to the sink. He happily agreed, anticipating some bonus points for doing a favor for his Mom. No sooner had he reached the top of the stairs did I hear, "....um Mommy?..... Um...... the..... well, a couple..... some of the little towels...but not all of them..... uh.... Mommy?!
"Yes Jack, do you need help?"
"Um, Mommy, I dropped 2 of the towels, but not all of them into the toilet."
Well, let me tell you, the toilet is not near enough the counter next to the sink that the towels may have accidentally fallen into the toilet. This was an open shut case of Jack NOT LISTENING. I then tell him to just leave EVERYTHING right where it is and I'd go up later and fix it. I know how he fixes things. So, I call him back downstairs. It takes forever. I count to 3 (I rarely have to do that) and he barely makes it back downstairs in time.
It's then that I notice he is no longer wearing his socks. When I ask him where they are he replies, "They were wet, so I had to take them off."
Okay, so now I'm curious. I pull Effie out of the highchair and run upstairs with her in my arms. The scene looks like a crime was committed and I'll tell you right now, the crime was 3 year old boy NOT LISTENING. Wet toilet paper strewn on the floor around the base of the toilet. The two clean hand towels on the bottom of a pile of soaking wet washcloths, some of which were from the basket of clean washcloths we keep on the toilet tank, two red (very wet) socks and puddles of water all about. UGHHHH!!!! And so...... 5 minute time out, a talk about listening very carefully and following directions.
We cooked, we dished it up, said prayers and ate like kings (and queens) and then the kids had their COOKIES. It all went wonderfully. When Effie was cleaned up, I got her down from the highchair and stood her on the floor. I made the sign for WASH HANDS which we found is a necessary part of her OCD after meals or snacks. She bursts into a FULL ON FIT! No details needed but there was screaming, hopping, spit, snot and tears. It went on and on.
It was still going when Andy got home. Eventually when it stopped, the only reasonable option was a bath. (think SNOTTY hair and spit sticky arms). After the bath, Effie was all smiles, laughing and dancing. It could have been the tylenol, but my guess is MOMMY and EFFIE time with no one around to steal her thunder.
I've often hear people talk about baby-proofing their houses, in fact our social worker asked us if we had done any during our first Post Placement visit. To be quite honest, there is absolutely no need for baby proofing. This child will not leave the 5 foot radius of my feet, for all the tea in China (and yes that pun was totally intended) Her attachment issues are our 100% baby-proofing plan.
After the bath and the renewal of attitude by both Mother and Child, I was in need of some My Little Pony Therapy. I brushed the manes and tails of each of those beauties at least a half dozen times. Effie was content to play with her shape sorter. She's made progress today. We started at about 0 for 5 and now she's able to get at least 2 shapes in the correct spot on the first try each round. That's progress. It sure makes a different when you actually look at the shapes to see which ones might fit...... I taught her that. So, I guess today was not a total failure. I may have even had a little bit of fun with my kids. (Shhhh.... don't tell anyone)
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