Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
But first...
Dexter, to Dennis, who was dressed for and about to head to regular firefighter training tonight: "You going to ride in the fire truck, Dad?"
Dennis: "I'm not just going to ride in it. I'm going to DRIVE it."
Dexter: "But first you have to turn it on."
Dennis, through laughter: "Yes, I'll need to remember to turn it on first."
Dexter: "No no no. But first you have to get in."
Dennis: "I'm not just going to ride in it. I'm going to DRIVE it."
Dexter: "But first you have to turn it on."
Dennis, through laughter: "Yes, I'll need to remember to turn it on first."
Dexter: "No no no. But first you have to get in."
Friday, December 9, 2011
2011 Holiday Card
Done! And not a moment too soon. Phoning it in a bit this year, in that I'm having them mailed directly vs. addressing the invitations myself. I usually spend about half a day fighting with the printer every year, trying to get the @$#%^ envelopes addressed. So yeah, not this time. The downside is we won't be able to physically sign the cards, and I do hate that. Maybe next year I will get my act together in time to get them, sign them, and mail them before the holiday.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Fwd: kid report (Mom is traveling for work)
From: Dennis Cooley
Date: December 7, 2011 11:14:04 PM EST
To: Danielle Cooley
Subject: kid report
Last night at 3am I hear Desmond in the kitchen asking for you quite loudly. I run in there to quiet him down before Dexter wakes up and carry him to our room. He was asking for something in his little nice guy voice, although quite loud (he had probably been up and talking for a while and I slept through it, so he got louder). It sounded like broccoli. So I asked him if he wanted broccoli, and he said "brok-ee? umhum." So whatever he was saying wasn't broccoli, but broccoli was an acceptable substitute.But I knew the only broccoli we had was still frozen, so I talked him into an apple. Only thing I could think of that he could eat in bed without crumbs and things. After his approval, I went to the kitchen and peeled and cubed half an apple, put it in a little bowl, and propped him up on your side of the bed. He was happy and ate all of it (or hid it somewhere - who knows? I was trying to get him to fall asleep by leading by example).
After his snack, Desmond couldn't really get comfortable, but he was mostly laying still. Around four Dexter just shows up at the door and walks calmly to my side of the bed. I lift him in, and he lays down and proceeds to fall asleep - neither of us said anything. He only woke slightly a few times when Desmond tried to say hi.If I understood Melissa correctly, Dexter and Desmond got to nap together today in the twos room - and both napped very well. I know both got a good nap in, just not positive they were in the same room.
Right before bath we were watching Elmo movie, and I gave them each some water to drink in a big boy cup (last night before bath they couldn't drink enough water after brushing teeth). Desmond spilled his, mostly on me but some on him and the couch. I told him not to worry about it, clock was almost blue. He sat there for another minute then got up and went to the kitchen. I heard him moving his stool around and though he might have been going for food, but I let him do his thing because clock was almost blue. Then he shows up at the couch with a hands/face washcloth and proceeds to wipe my leg and the couch with it.Since he sacrificed Elmo movie time to clean me, I moved bath time back a little. :)Gotta go - need to shower.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Desmond's Panda Party!
Desmond is TWO!
I admit we phoned it in a little when choosing his party theme, but he was such a big fan of Kung Fu Panda that we just decided to go with it.
Here is his fun day in pictures:
First, the invitation. As usual, I spent entirely too much time on this. In all of his recent pictures, he is dirty or has food on his face or has boogers, so we tried to get him to pose for a suitable invite photo. 76 pictures later, this was the best we could do.
As usual, Anita Schmitt made a gorgeous and delicious cake. (Always my favorite part of the party.)
Kung Fu Panda stuff proved surprisingly difficult to find, and 99% of it was for Kung Fu Panda 2, which came out earlier this year. But since I couldn't find much from the original movie, and because I knew I would be the only one who knew (until now), we got Kung Fu Panda 2 stuff. The banner is one. Plates & napkins were also technically from the wrong movie. Oh well.
Plenty of people came to celebrate with us.
Presents!!
Cake!
The aftermath.
Post-party cake? Don't mind if I do!
Finally, a simple thank-you note:
I admit we phoned it in a little when choosing his party theme, but he was such a big fan of Kung Fu Panda that we just decided to go with it.
Here is his fun day in pictures:
First, the invitation. As usual, I spent entirely too much time on this. In all of his recent pictures, he is dirty or has food on his face or has boogers, so we tried to get him to pose for a suitable invite photo. 76 pictures later, this was the best we could do.
As usual, Anita Schmitt made a gorgeous and delicious cake. (Always my favorite part of the party.)
Happy Birthday banner, which was hung in Desmond's
bedroom (long) after the party.
Bulk Chinese takeout boxes
+ Kung Fu Panda (the orignal movie!) stickers
= great party favor holders.
Plenty of people came to celebrate with us.
And of course, the movie played a couple of times during the party.
Patronized a local Chinese restaurant for our party fare. It was good, as usual.
Kung Fu Panda (2) plates.
And more takeout containers for people to bring home leftovers. Which no one did.
The birthday boy ended up eating alone in the corner, but he was cool with that.
Note the Thomas the Tank Engine pajama top, which he would NOT take off. Grandma had made him a really cute t-shirt with pandas embroidered on it, which he liked very much and wore several times - just not for his panda party. I guess that's being 2 for ya.
He eventually got some company.
This guitar ended up being perhaps the best present of all. Who knew?
Panda Pillow (from Grandma & Granddad) immediately became Desmond's actual bed pillow.
The aftermath.
Hey, look! It's Dexter! In pajamas!
Note his absence from all previous pictures. He had a high fever for the whole party. He tried to tough it out for a bit, but instead threw up on the couch in the middle of the party. He spent the rest of the time in his room watching a movie on the laptop. Dad and Mom and Tootsie took turns keeping him company. His fever broke right as the party was ending, and he was good as new.
What a mess.
But the birthday boy sure is happy. :)
He looks sick, doesn't he?
Post-party cake? Don't mind if I do!
Finally, a simple thank-you note:
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Desmond is 2!
TWO! It feels like he's been 2 for a long time, probably because he's so brilliant and polite and big and strong and generally very advanced for a two-year-old. (I might be just a little bit biased
I've also been noticing lately what an even-keeled kid he is, especially considering his age. He certainly still gets upset sometimes - if you take away a toy, or if you put him in the bathtub before he's ready - but overall, he doesn't tend to get upset over nothing. He only hits back (and rarely even does that, not that it's ever okay, but, you know, he's 2). He (usually) eats when he's hungry and sleeps when he's tired. He is pretty good about "please" and "thank you."
He's not a big snuggler. Never has been, really, but it's getting a little more obvious now. Sometimes at night he'll ask to be rocked, but he won't snuggle against your chest. He turns around and faces out and says "Like DAT!" He'll lie back against you, but that's as good as it gets. BUT, while he will very rarely snuggle, he is very free with his kisses. They are really sweet kisses, too.
This year, his birthday happened to fall on Thanksgiving. So Grandma made him a cake. A PANDA CAKE!!!
He tried really hard to blow out the candles, but his aim just isn't quite there, yet.
Teeth: Still no new teeth. I'd kindof like to get this over with, already. (Hellooooo molars! They call you two-year-molars for a reason! Chop chop.)
Height: Unofficial height: 36.75" Per the wall chart, he's grown 2.25" in six months.Weight: Unofficial weight: ~32.5 pounds.
Still thinning out a bit, but those chubby little baby cheeks are stubbornly and very cutely sticking around. Like every toddler, his appetite waxes and wanes. In the last couple of days, he has been eating a LOT. Like, full dinners, plus snacks. Then he'll call you into his room a little while after lights out:
Us: You want to rock rock?
Desmo: No. Dinner.
Us: Dinner?
Desmo: Eat... dinner.
So far, we've managed to convince him to wait patiently while we get him a banana, which he devours before heading back to bed, usually for the night.
Sleep: He's pretty consistently good for about 10 hours at night with a 2 hour nap (give or take) during the day. Getting out of the crib on his own is pretty much his routine now, but he's still very willing to sleep and/or stay in the crib. Sometimes he practically sells his soul to do so, since that's the only place he's allowed to have his pacifier. If he drops the pacifier, or wants a book or something, Independent Boy will climb out and get it, then call you to put him back into the crib, since he can't quite make it back in by himself just yet.
Still, the kid knows when he's tired and (with incredibly few exceptions) doesn't fight it too hard. (If he is even remotely tired, he is no match for a moving car. We don't go for drives just to make him sleep, but if we happen to be in the car around naptime, he is out.)
Food: WAFFLES! Good god. I didn't think we would be eating food by the box until they hit puberty. But I'm starting to wish for industrial-size home delivery of frozen waffles. And eggs (one dozen per family breakfast). And milk (2+ gallons per week). I'm sure when they are 13, I will laugh and laugh at how I thought this was us going through a lot of food.
He's still good on variety, willingly eating many kinds of meats, vegetables, dairy, and fruits. So we don't worry too much about the disproportionate amount of frozen waffles in his diet.
Words: I've been forgetting to mention his funny and adorable language
pattern with predicates. He's almost Yoda-like. Instead of "Eat yogurt,"
it's "Eat it, yogurt." (Well, "yoyurt," but you get it.) He is very
consistent, no matter what "it" is."Drop(ped) it, fork."
"Read it, book?"
"Watch it, Yo Yo Gabba."
"Get it, toothpaste?"
"Wash it, hands."
"Get 'im, Dehtah" (The only real variation on "it" is "him," and only in this context.)
Dennis just got him a new book about dinosaurs - a *real* educational book about *real* dinosaurs. So far, he just likes putting his finger on the dinosaurs' teeth, saying "ow!" and pulling his finger away. Surely some of the (presumably) scientifcally accurate dinosaur info is filtering through, though, and will continue to do so as he is more willing to explore the book's pages instead of just finding dinosaurs with teeth. TV: Still loving TV. Favorites are Yo Gabba Gabba ("Yo Yo Gabba"), Dinosaur Train, and anything Elmo. Panda is still acceptable, as is Fish (Finding Nemo), Thomas, Bob the Builder, and a few others. He's not as willing as he once was to sit still for a longer show or movie, though. I'll take this as a good sign that he won't be a couch potato suffering from obesity at age 6. I'm happy to say that, while he still asks for TV a lot - and the phone. My god, don't even try to use a phone in front of the kid unless you are willing to surrender it or listen to a very upset kid - he is (mostly) just as willing to quit watching TV to go outside, or ride bikes in the basement, or play with trains, or just run around the house.
TV time is the only time you can trick him into snuggling with you, though, so I'm selfishly OK with some TV time for him. :)
Smarts: Colors are just about there. FINALLY!!! He'll still sometimes mix up pink and purple. Occasionally red and green are still confused. Black and white, too. But he's right about 95% of the time now, so I'm going to call that good.
He also counts - 1, 2, 3! The first time I heard him do this, there actually were 3 things he was counting, so I was pretty impressed. Since then, he's shown that everything countable has 3 things. And don't try to convince him otherwise. Once, mention of "4" sent him to sad little tears. Poor baby. I think he'll change his mind about 4 really soon.
Also, guess which boy genius can now pedal his tricycle just like a big boy?! He is so smart. :)
Monday, November 7, 2011
A New Job for Dennis!
It may not seem like it, but this is supposed to document the big adventures of *ALL* of the Ds Cooley. Thus, we get to share the exciting news that Dennis started a new job today at Gallus BioPharmacueticals!
It comes with a promotion, a significant pay increase, more interesting work, and a longer commute. Hey, you can't have everything, right?
Sadly, I did not get a picture of him leaving for his first day, but believe me when I say he looked incredibly smart and handsome.
It comes with a promotion, a significant pay increase, more interesting work, and a longer commute. Hey, you can't have everything, right?
Sadly, I did not get a picture of him leaving for his first day, but believe me when I say he looked incredibly smart and handsome.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Halloween 2011
It was a little hectic. (OK, a LOT hectic), but fun was had and candy was received, so we'll call that a success.
Since this is (probably) the last year that we pretty much get to decide what they will both be for halloween, we went for Backhoe Loader (Dexter) and Helicopter (Desmo). Costume construction began on..... October 29. We're really dedicated to this particular holiday.
As with last year's Airplane costume, it all started with an empty diaper box.
Dennis is teaching the lab part of that bioreactor class at the Danforth Center again this year. He had class on Halloween night, so it was just me and the boys. It was an adventure.
Picked the boys up just before 5:00. We were going to Chili's for dinner, because tonight was 2 free kid meals with one adult entree purchase. Woot.
Except Desmond said no, he did not want to go to a restaurant. And he proved it by really fighting the whole thing, refusing to sit down in the high chair or in the booth, refusing to stay close to our table if I put him on the floor. He finally settled down and ate once the food got there, but it was a LOOOONG time before that happened, because they didn't even seat us for 10 minutes (no one in front of us & no big crowds for dinner at 5pm), then the server didn't come for another 10 minutes. I asked Dex if he wanted to go to a different restaurant, but he already had his heart set on his "popcorn" (corn on the cob), so we stayed.
THEN I took them to Krispy Kreme, where you get a free donut on halloween if you are in costume. Except Desmond wouldn't sit down in his carseat so we could go. THAT took another 10 minutes and screaming.
Did I mention you have to be in costume to get your free donut? So yeah, we get to the Krispy Kreme parking lot, get them out of the car, and put their costumes on. I took some pictures with the good camera, even though neither of them would stand still and barely even stood close to one another.
Desmond's helicopter blades kept falling off (See them on the ground behind him in that last photo?), and the shoulder straps weren't working very well, so the whole helicopter was pitched backward, which made it pretty hard to walk. We got to navigate through an outer and an inner door in those costumes. Waited (forEVER) for our turn and got our free donuts.
Took the costumes and jackets off to eat the donuts. (Can you imagine trying to eat donuts in those costumes? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
Dex had to use the potty at Krispy Kreme, which turned out not to be so terrible, since it gave all of us an opportunity to wash the donut off of our hands. A nice man helped me carry the costumes back outside, where Desmond refused to stay on the sidewalk and ran in front of a (slow-moving, but still there and moving) car.
Managed to get Dex strapped back into his car seat (who knew he would ever be the cooperative one?). Desmond climbed all over the car while I made parking lot repairs to the helicopter costume. Thankfully, I had brought clear packing tape just in case, and I used the hell out of it. I reinforced the blades and the armature and the headlight/spotlight (little flashlight) that was attached to the thing. The original goal was for the blades to be able to spin. But that just wasn't going to happen. So I opted for fixed, non-rotating blades over blades that rotated right off of the helicopter every 42 seconds.
While he was climbing all over the car, he found 2 suckers that were left over from some recent doctor and bank visits. He very kindly gave one to Dexter, but they were upset when I wouldn't let them have them, seeing as WE HAD JUST EATEN DONUTS and were about to go get more candy.
As I was buckling Desmond's carseat, I smelled poop. Awesome. So we got home, checked, and yes, he had poop. I changed him on the chest freezer in the garage. He didn't want to get up there, because he was playing with toys in the garage, and then he didn't want to get down - who knows why.
After THAT, we started putting the costumes back on to go trick-or-treating. Dexter was excited to wear his and put it right on. He then went to play with toys while I got Desmond into the helicopter. His shoulder straps were falling down while we were waiting at Krispy Kreme, so I had to tape those tighter, too, after I got the costume on him.
While I was trying to wrap 3 feet of packing tape around the shoulder straps of a moving Desmond, I hear "I fell down! I fell down! I fell down!" I finally realized Dexter had fallen and couldn't get back up because of the backhoe loader costume. It was pretty pitiful. So I went and helped him up.
Finally, everyone was ready, and I took a few more pictures with the good camera. Again, no one would stand still or together.
I did that as quickly as I could, because by then it was after 7:00, and I was afraid people would start turning their lights off. So I said, "Let's go!" and Desmond cried "Off! Off! OFF!" Gah. So I went and got some scissors and cut the 3 feet of packing tape that I had so cleverly positioned to keep the costume on him. Got him out of it and taped that glowstick to his back so he would at least be somewhat visible. At least his sweatshirt had a crane on it, so, with a plastic construction hat, it almost looked like he was a very planned part of an overall "construction" theme.
It probably took 15 minutes just to walk to the first house. Desmond took a lot of detours and generally ran in every damn direction, to the point where I had to carry him against his will for a large part of the journey, stopping occasionally to pick up lost construction helmets, a fallen Dexter, another lost construction helmet, a lost candy bucket, and another lost construction helmet.
Right as we are finally approaching the first house, 2 cars of trick-or-treaters pull up and get out to walk up to the door. I'm sorry, but ARE YOU @#%$^&* KIDDING ME?! No one trick-or-treats on this street. That house probably hadn't had any trick-or-treaters for an hour, and these people pull up the same MINUTE we manage to get over there? I managed to be nice. One of the moms commented on Dex's costume (which was admittedly pretty cool with its headlights and brake lights). There wasn't room for everyone, so I told the boys they had to wait for their turn. Desmond took this to mean he should run around and crush the woman's plants.
The next house was across the street and a few down. It was a good one. Desmond was again being carried against his will, then decided he needed to play with their garage doors instead of walking with Dexter and me to the next house. So, yes, I had to go get him again.
At the third house, Dexter finally had his "Trick or Treat!" down (so cute!), and they gave him lots of candy. That house had a giant bowl full, and of course almost no one was trick-or-treating there, so they had plenty to spare.
I wish we could have tried for a few more houses on the cross streets, but I was done, and so were they, really. Desmond was happy but wildly misbehaving, and it was already 45 minutes after bath usually starts.
Got home, got everyone out of their costumes, told them they could have ONE piece of candy. Interestingly, they didn't fight that, though they each initially picked the "one" that was a treat bag with 3 mini candy bars in it, so I still had to repeat my instruction that they pick ONE.
Naturally, instead of getting in the bathtub, they started jumping on Dexter's bed. I finally got Dexter into the tub after probably 30 minutes of them running and screaming and jumping on the bed while I tried to keep my patience and cajole them into the (Orange! How fun! For Halloween!) bathtub. Dexter started crying and said he did not want that colored water. Fine. The water was cold by then anyway, since they wouldn't get into the tub, so I let him drain it and add new, clear, hot water.
When I went to get Desmond to put him into the tub by force (sensing a theme?), he pointed to the leftover pizza in the refrigerator and said Eat? Pizza? GAH! The kid really didn't eat a lot of his dinner. His whole nutrition for the evening was french fries, milk, and a donut. Not that pizza is so nutritious, but I did think he was legitimately hungry. So I let him sit on the kitchen floor and eat it. Except he would take a bite, run down the hallway, wait for us to look at him, then run back and take another bite. I finally said, "Last bite! Then we're getting in the bathtub with Dexter!" Somehow, that worked, and he got into the tub.
Bathed them quickly and got them out as quick as I could. That was probably 8:40? Cue more running around. Dexter wouldn't put on his underwear and pajamas. Desmond fought the diaper and the yeast cream. (Dealing with an interesting diaper rash - not very much improved in the last day or 2 & will be calling the doctor again tomorrow.) Then refused to choose pajamas, until I picked some for him, which of course broke his little heart. Dexter pointed to some digger PJs, and that sounded like a good idea to Desmond, so he picked those, then proceeded to run around the room and jump on his floor mattress.
Finally got Dexter into his clothes by threatening time out. The initial comment didn't work, but when I said I was counting to 10 and if he didn't have his pajamas on by 10, he would get time out, he brought them to me and asked me to help him put them on.
I started to put Desmond's shirt on, but he screamed bloody murder, gave me the pants and said, "Left foot!" (while holding out his right foot, so don't get too excited about that part.) Okaaaaay, we'll put the pants on first. Finally wrestle (literally, we *wrestle* their clothes on and off of them twice a day) the PJs on, get him in some socks, and say "book or night night?" Well, you know how Desmond is about night night, and it was 9:00. Poor kid had been rubbing his eyes since 7. He wanted to go straight to bed, so I let him.
This was a VERY distressing turn of events for (overtired) Dexter, who wanted to read Desmond's book in Desmond's room. I mean, very distressing - tears and hysterics for at least 10 minutes. Dennis came home about then and managed to distract him with some pictures on the phone. Then there was drama because Dexter didn't want Dennis around for books. Then there was drama because the book he wanted wasn't in the room. Dennis brought it to us, and that was OK for a while.
THEN he wouldn't put his books away. The same damn fight we have had every night for what, six months? A year? Lately, we've been making the connection:
Me: Dexter, what happens when you don't put your books away?
Dex: Mom puts them away.
Me: And how does that make you feel?
Dex: Sad.
Me: Do you want to feel sad?
Dex: No.
Me: So what do you need to do?
Dex: Put my books away.
And then he puts them away. That's worked for the last week or so, almost, but tonight it just wasn't happening. He wouldn't put the books away, laid on top of the books to prevent me from getting them to put them away, pretending to walk to the bookshelf and then walking away and holding on freakishly tight to the books and saying he did not want to put them away.
Naturally, when I did finally put them away, he was again distraught. Major hysterics again for another 10 minutes or more. Distracted him with a story I made up about a boy and a dog. Partway through, he put his head down on the bed, then cried "I don't want to lie down!"
Got him to sit in my lap with his head on my chest, but even after that he didn't want to get into his bed. It was 10:07 when I finally left the room with him asleep.
I was exhausted. I was exhausted at 7:00, more exhausted at 8:00, and now I'm dead. And I get to keep them both at home tomorrow! And Dennis has firefighting training tomorrow night! And Dennis teaches his class again Wednesday night! Somehow, we will all live through it.
If you made it to the end of this, you can have a piece of their Halloween candy. :)
Since this is (probably) the last year that we pretty much get to decide what they will both be for halloween, we went for Backhoe Loader (Dexter) and Helicopter (Desmo). Costume construction began on..... October 29. We're really dedicated to this particular holiday.
As with last year's Airplane costume, it all started with an empty diaper box.
Dennis is teaching the lab part of that bioreactor class at the Danforth Center again this year. He had class on Halloween night, so it was just me and the boys. It was an adventure.
Picked the boys up just before 5:00. We were going to Chili's for dinner, because tonight was 2 free kid meals with one adult entree purchase. Woot.
Except Desmond said no, he did not want to go to a restaurant. And he proved it by really fighting the whole thing, refusing to sit down in the high chair or in the booth, refusing to stay close to our table if I put him on the floor. He finally settled down and ate once the food got there, but it was a LOOOONG time before that happened, because they didn't even seat us for 10 minutes (no one in front of us & no big crowds for dinner at 5pm), then the server didn't come for another 10 minutes. I asked Dex if he wanted to go to a different restaurant, but he already had his heart set on his "popcorn" (corn on the cob), so we stayed.
THEN I took them to Krispy Kreme, where you get a free donut on halloween if you are in costume. Except Desmond wouldn't sit down in his carseat so we could go. THAT took another 10 minutes and screaming.
Did I mention you have to be in costume to get your free donut? So yeah, we get to the Krispy Kreme parking lot, get them out of the car, and put their costumes on. I took some pictures with the good camera, even though neither of them would stand still and barely even stood close to one another.
Desmond's helicopter blades kept falling off (See them on the ground behind him in that last photo?), and the shoulder straps weren't working very well, so the whole helicopter was pitched backward, which made it pretty hard to walk. We got to navigate through an outer and an inner door in those costumes. Waited (forEVER) for our turn and got our free donuts.
Took the costumes and jackets off to eat the donuts. (Can you imagine trying to eat donuts in those costumes? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
Dex had to use the potty at Krispy Kreme, which turned out not to be so terrible, since it gave all of us an opportunity to wash the donut off of our hands. A nice man helped me carry the costumes back outside, where Desmond refused to stay on the sidewalk and ran in front of a (slow-moving, but still there and moving) car.
Managed to get Dex strapped back into his car seat (who knew he would ever be the cooperative one?). Desmond climbed all over the car while I made parking lot repairs to the helicopter costume. Thankfully, I had brought clear packing tape just in case, and I used the hell out of it. I reinforced the blades and the armature and the headlight/spotlight (little flashlight) that was attached to the thing. The original goal was for the blades to be able to spin. But that just wasn't going to happen. So I opted for fixed, non-rotating blades over blades that rotated right off of the helicopter every 42 seconds.
While he was climbing all over the car, he found 2 suckers that were left over from some recent doctor and bank visits. He very kindly gave one to Dexter, but they were upset when I wouldn't let them have them, seeing as WE HAD JUST EATEN DONUTS and were about to go get more candy.
As I was buckling Desmond's carseat, I smelled poop. Awesome. So we got home, checked, and yes, he had poop. I changed him on the chest freezer in the garage. He didn't want to get up there, because he was playing with toys in the garage, and then he didn't want to get down - who knows why.
After THAT, we started putting the costumes back on to go trick-or-treating. Dexter was excited to wear his and put it right on. He then went to play with toys while I got Desmond into the helicopter. His shoulder straps were falling down while we were waiting at Krispy Kreme, so I had to tape those tighter, too, after I got the costume on him.
While I was trying to wrap 3 feet of packing tape around the shoulder straps of a moving Desmond, I hear "I fell down! I fell down! I fell down!" I finally realized Dexter had fallen and couldn't get back up because of the backhoe loader costume. It was pretty pitiful. So I went and helped him up.
Finally, everyone was ready, and I took a few more pictures with the good camera. Again, no one would stand still or together.
 |
| Dexter requested a switch to yellow construction helmet instead of the much more buff, white construction helmet. I think the goal was a better fit, but judging by how many times this one fell off, I'm not sure we came out ahead there. |
 |
| That construction helmet with a string taped to it is supposed to be his candy bucket. That didn't work out so well. |
I did that as quickly as I could, because by then it was after 7:00, and I was afraid people would start turning their lights off. So I said, "Let's go!" and Desmond cried "Off! Off! OFF!" Gah. So I went and got some scissors and cut the 3 feet of packing tape that I had so cleverly positioned to keep the costume on him. Got him out of it and taped that glowstick to his back so he would at least be somewhat visible. At least his sweatshirt had a crane on it, so, with a plastic construction hat, it almost looked like he was a very planned part of an overall "construction" theme.
It probably took 15 minutes just to walk to the first house. Desmond took a lot of detours and generally ran in every damn direction, to the point where I had to carry him against his will for a large part of the journey, stopping occasionally to pick up lost construction helmets, a fallen Dexter, another lost construction helmet, a lost candy bucket, and another lost construction helmet.
Right as we are finally approaching the first house, 2 cars of trick-or-treaters pull up and get out to walk up to the door. I'm sorry, but ARE YOU @#%$^&* KIDDING ME?! No one trick-or-treats on this street. That house probably hadn't had any trick-or-treaters for an hour, and these people pull up the same MINUTE we manage to get over there? I managed to be nice. One of the moms commented on Dex's costume (which was admittedly pretty cool with its headlights and brake lights). There wasn't room for everyone, so I told the boys they had to wait for their turn. Desmond took this to mean he should run around and crush the woman's plants.
The next house was across the street and a few down. It was a good one. Desmond was again being carried against his will, then decided he needed to play with their garage doors instead of walking with Dexter and me to the next house. So, yes, I had to go get him again.
At the third house, Dexter finally had his "Trick or Treat!" down (so cute!), and they gave him lots of candy. That house had a giant bowl full, and of course almost no one was trick-or-treating there, so they had plenty to spare.
I wish we could have tried for a few more houses on the cross streets, but I was done, and so were they, really. Desmond was happy but wildly misbehaving, and it was already 45 minutes after bath usually starts.
Got home, got everyone out of their costumes, told them they could have ONE piece of candy. Interestingly, they didn't fight that, though they each initially picked the "one" that was a treat bag with 3 mini candy bars in it, so I still had to repeat my instruction that they pick ONE.
Naturally, instead of getting in the bathtub, they started jumping on Dexter's bed. I finally got Dexter into the tub after probably 30 minutes of them running and screaming and jumping on the bed while I tried to keep my patience and cajole them into the (Orange! How fun! For Halloween!) bathtub. Dexter started crying and said he did not want that colored water. Fine. The water was cold by then anyway, since they wouldn't get into the tub, so I let him drain it and add new, clear, hot water.
When I went to get Desmond to put him into the tub by force (sensing a theme?), he pointed to the leftover pizza in the refrigerator and said Eat? Pizza? GAH! The kid really didn't eat a lot of his dinner. His whole nutrition for the evening was french fries, milk, and a donut. Not that pizza is so nutritious, but I did think he was legitimately hungry. So I let him sit on the kitchen floor and eat it. Except he would take a bite, run down the hallway, wait for us to look at him, then run back and take another bite. I finally said, "Last bite! Then we're getting in the bathtub with Dexter!" Somehow, that worked, and he got into the tub.
Bathed them quickly and got them out as quick as I could. That was probably 8:40? Cue more running around. Dexter wouldn't put on his underwear and pajamas. Desmond fought the diaper and the yeast cream. (Dealing with an interesting diaper rash - not very much improved in the last day or 2 & will be calling the doctor again tomorrow.) Then refused to choose pajamas, until I picked some for him, which of course broke his little heart. Dexter pointed to some digger PJs, and that sounded like a good idea to Desmond, so he picked those, then proceeded to run around the room and jump on his floor mattress.
Finally got Dexter into his clothes by threatening time out. The initial comment didn't work, but when I said I was counting to 10 and if he didn't have his pajamas on by 10, he would get time out, he brought them to me and asked me to help him put them on.
I started to put Desmond's shirt on, but he screamed bloody murder, gave me the pants and said, "Left foot!" (while holding out his right foot, so don't get too excited about that part.) Okaaaaay, we'll put the pants on first. Finally wrestle (literally, we *wrestle* their clothes on and off of them twice a day) the PJs on, get him in some socks, and say "book or night night?" Well, you know how Desmond is about night night, and it was 9:00. Poor kid had been rubbing his eyes since 7. He wanted to go straight to bed, so I let him.
This was a VERY distressing turn of events for (overtired) Dexter, who wanted to read Desmond's book in Desmond's room. I mean, very distressing - tears and hysterics for at least 10 minutes. Dennis came home about then and managed to distract him with some pictures on the phone. Then there was drama because Dexter didn't want Dennis around for books. Then there was drama because the book he wanted wasn't in the room. Dennis brought it to us, and that was OK for a while.
THEN he wouldn't put his books away. The same damn fight we have had every night for what, six months? A year? Lately, we've been making the connection:
Me: Dexter, what happens when you don't put your books away?
Dex: Mom puts them away.
Me: And how does that make you feel?
Dex: Sad.
Me: Do you want to feel sad?
Dex: No.
Me: So what do you need to do?
Dex: Put my books away.
And then he puts them away. That's worked for the last week or so, almost, but tonight it just wasn't happening. He wouldn't put the books away, laid on top of the books to prevent me from getting them to put them away, pretending to walk to the bookshelf and then walking away and holding on freakishly tight to the books and saying he did not want to put them away.
Naturally, when I did finally put them away, he was again distraught. Major hysterics again for another 10 minutes or more. Distracted him with a story I made up about a boy and a dog. Partway through, he put his head down on the bed, then cried "I don't want to lie down!"
Got him to sit in my lap with his head on my chest, but even after that he didn't want to get into his bed. It was 10:07 when I finally left the room with him asleep.
I was exhausted. I was exhausted at 7:00, more exhausted at 8:00, and now I'm dead. And I get to keep them both at home tomorrow! And Dennis has firefighting training tomorrow night! And Dennis teaches his class again Wednesday night! Somehow, we will all live through it.
If you made it to the end of this, you can have a piece of their Halloween candy. :)
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