Survival

Ryan is back from his annual hunting trip. The 9 days without Ryan had highs and lows. My mom came to help for the weekend (Thank you Mom!) and a few days during the week. I have no problem admitting I struggle with the kids when alone. Ryan does the cooking and the school pickup is on his schedule, not mine. While he was gone that meant an earlier wake up time to get myself in and out of the shower before the kids got up. The actual morning routine wasn't too different other than that.

I worked from home the whole time so I could start work early, skip a lunch break and leave early to get the kids and still get home in time to make something to eat before 8pm. Some days they were great while I got dinner ready and others not so great. Some nights they ate like champs and others were complete battles. Again, nothing new there.

The biggest realization is that they don't listen to me no matter what. I had this vision that without Ryan around, they would realize I am boss and listen to me. No such luck. I tried to keep my cool but the last night I lost it with Miller in a battle of wills. Clearly the calm, rational approach didn't work. Neither did the yelling. Nor the removal of privileges. Eventually we were in the epic battle of him taking a time out for 5 minutes in his room. It went on for about 50 minutes. I held strong and won in the long run.

On the positive side, Miller read his first book by sounding out all of the words. It was so cool to finally see him putting all of the sounds together. We have his first conference next week. I hope it's a good report.

We went to a new park on the weekend. Mason was actually playing like a big boy and doing quite well on the equipment. He's definitely benefiting from being in the newer classroom at school. In the morning he is with his older friends (about 6 months older). Watching them interact is fun. I missed out on seeing that with Miller since Ryan took him to and from daycare everyday.

Mason's doing well with potty training too. He always goes when put on the potty. Some days he's dry before he goes and others he's not. I figure we will work out way through this last batch of diapers before trying out pullups. He is interested but since he's so stubborn, I don't want to push him too hard. The teachers said the same thing. They ask him and if he puts up a wall, they leave him alone and just change his diaper.

Both boys enjoyed "Grandpa" Jean time. Mason decided calling her grandpa was funny and stuck with it the whole time. Miller and Grandma found a disgusting caterpillar and caught it. They were being brave and adventuresome. I stayed inside during that adventure. Yuck! Lots of books were read, adventures in the yard, some coloring, some car play time, swimming, etc. I think Grandma is learning how to play with boys more and more. Next up, teaching her how to transform a Transformer.

I don't know how single parents do it. These kids are quite a handful. I am glad to have Ryan back for tag teaming when things get chaotic.