I always have a hard time finding things to write about in the summertime. Nothing much seems to happen after vacation. We went away to my mother-in-law’s cottage for the Fourth of July. I was supposed to drive up with the kids last Tuesday, but Hayley broke out in chicken pox-like lesions on Monday. She had just gotten the chicken pox vaccine the week before and I was suspicious. These bumps looked just like the blisters that come with chicken pox, but the doctor saw Hayley and said they were probably from some kind of bug. But just to be safe, we were not to spend any time around Julia, my eighteen month-old niece. My sister-in-law offered to take Thomas with her and Julia up to the cottage while Hayley and I were in quarantine. It was wonderful of her to do this, because Thomas would have been very upset if he couldn’t go Tuesday, as we planned.
I always get nervous when I send Thomas somewhere with other adults to look after him because I’m afraid he’s going to be difficult. Miraculously, he never is. Everyone always tells us what a little angel he is and how sweet he is. I guess that’s usually how it works out …your kids are always better for other adults. He went to the zoo in Madison and then to the circus museum in Baraboo where he rode an elephant! I really wish I had seen that – it must have been so cool!
Jonathan and I came up to the cottage on Thursday with Hayley. Thomas was indifferent to seeing us again. He kept telling me that he didn’t want to see me and that I could go home. I don’t think he was adequately prepared for us to arrive, but he got used to it quickly. Lately, he gets upset and angry when any activity is suggested. For instance, “Hey, who wants to go fishing?” Thomas will say, “No! Nobody can go fishing! Nobody! Never, ever!” Seriously, that’s exactly what he says. It’s very dramatic. The way I deal with this now is just to say, “Okay, Thomas. Tell me when you’re not in a bad mood anymore.” And he does! He knows that he can’t control anybody else in terms of what activities they participate in, but he gives his opinion anyway. After a few minutes, he says, “Okay, Mommy. I’m not in a bad mood anymore.” After that, he’s more tractable. Unfortunately, Hayley (who is always up for any activity) listens to Thomas when he pulls the old “Nobody Can Go (insert adventure here)” and they end up arguing around it. I don’t know why she listens to him, but it makes me crazy.
On the Fourth, we went for a nice boat ride and anchored off the shore to go swimming. Thomas actually went in the water for a while and I was very surprised! He kept getting in and swimming around very energetically and then getting out again. I could tell that he was making himself do it even though he was uncomfortable. He just doesn’t like swimming in the lake and I can’t really blame him. Especially when we’re out of our depth like that…who knows what lurks deep within the weedy bottom? I kind of have to make myself do it, too. But Thomas went swimming and I was so proud of him! Jonathan took us out again on Saturday and Thomas swam again. I’m glad he does it, now the goal will be to get him to like it.
We got Thomas to see two fireworks shows this year as well. Last year, he wouldn’t go out on the boat at all so he didn’t really see any. This time we all went out on the boat and Thomas really liked the display and had fun riding the boat at night. Hayley fell asleep before both fireworks presentations but it was just as well. She was copping a royal attitude all weekend and I had had way more than enough of it by Sunday morning. Everything – EVERYTHING – has got to be just so with her that it makes me crazy. She finally earned a serious time-out on Sunday morning and ended up falling asleep in Grandma’s bed. Undoubtedly, her rottenness was brought on, at least partly, by fatigue.
We went to the zoo today and the kids were not quite as good as the first time I took them a few weeks ago. We still had fun until it was time to go. Thomas was not ready to go when I brought it up, but I didn’t want to get stuck in rush hour traffic. That’s new thing he does. Anytime he’s asked to do something he doesn’t want to do, he says, “I’m not ready to do that yet. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.” Of course, who knows when that will be? Sometimes I play along, other times I don’t. He likes to pretend he has a wristwatch on sometimes and tell me that he’ll be ready to go at nine o’clock. It could be 7 a.m., it could be 2:30 p.m. He just makes up an imaginary time that he’ll be ready to go. Since he’s showing such an interest in time, I think it might be a good idea to get him a watch soon. Then perhaps I might get an accurate prediction about when he’ll be “ready.”
This week, my sister flies in from California for our littlest sister’s bridal shower. I’m so excited to see her! The kids know her as the aunt who sends them t-shirts and suckers from “Cow-fornya.” We’re all supposed to get together on Friday at Uncle Tom’s for a little pool party. Every time the kids see an airplane, they ask if Aunt Tiffy’s on it. There’s both a small community airport nearby and also O’Hare, so we see all kinds of airplanes. I’ve explained many times that Aunt Tiffy flies on the big ones, but they keep asking just for fun.
