Long Week...

This week was insane...  Both work and home.  At work I've had so much to do that I have been working from the moment I walk in the place to the moment I leave.  I think I actually took lunch only once this week.  At home, William had a rough week.  Who am I kidding...we all had a rough week.  William gets points at school.  He can get a maximum of 15. Since he has been with us his daily score fluctuates between 5 and 13.  Although it has mostly been in the lower range.  Well this week he got a 5, 5, 1, and 4 (we'll see how today goes- he has an early dismissal day so you'd think he wouldn't be there long enough to lose that many points).

Besides having a rough week at school, he had a rough week at home.  He is adjusting to our house rules, testing us, testing us, and trying to play us off each other.  The good thing is that he seems to have a bad night and then a good night.  Monday night was horrible.  He had a total melt down after being asked to come to dinner and ignoring us.  Lawrence went in and turned off his TV and he just went off.  He calls us names (this is one of his biggest problems at school too- disrespect for staff and peers) and tells us he hates us.  Anyway, the whole situation went from bad to worse.  We kept trying to defuse the situation and he kept escalating.  It really makes you question your ability to be a parent.  We tried tactic after tactic and nothing seemed to work.  We asked him to go to his room and cool off and then rejoin us at the dinner table when he wanted to apologize.  He preceded to throw all his toys on the floor and barricade himself in his room.  The night did end with a good talk, putting all his toys back where they belong, and apologies to both me and Lawrence. But it took our entire evening. 

And then on Tuesday we played board games all night and he was (mostly) excellent. At times you really feel like you are losing your mind. This morning he got to go to school in his PJs.  Of course he wanted to wear his SpongeBob ones.  However, he wears them so much that they had a big hole in the butt seam.  Luckily we caught it last night and Lawrence sat on the bed and sewed his favorite PJs back together.  It was so cute watching Lawrence sew... I hadn't ever seen him do that before. =) Parenthood seems to bring out the best and worst in a person, especially with a child that is so smart and figures out your buttons in like two seconds and constantly pushes them.  I find myself getting caught up in something he says to me and you really have to consciously stop and realize "This is my stuff and he is just sticking his finger in my wounds, but I'm letting him."  It actually helps to have these realizations. In fact sometimes I find myself laughing at his behavior (on the inside) because it is so textbook. I have an MSW and studied a lot of child/human development. 

So I sent him off to school in his PJs and as I kissed him goodbye and told him to have a good day, I realized how fleeting it all is. Soon he won't let me give him a peck on the forehead to say goodbye.  Soon he won't like SpongeBob.  We get so frustrated by the behavior, and it is harder to savor the good funny moments. I guess that is the challenge of parenthood.  Balancing structure, discipline, and being the parent with being funny and laughing and just being a kid again.  It's a delicate dance and we are still learning the moves. =)

Speaking of growing up fast, I wanted to introduce the two other members of our family-  Blake and Celie.   Blake is a little over three years old and is our little prince.  He is cuddly and quiet and a little wallflower.  Celie is about 7 months old and is the Queen of the House.  She has sooo much personality and is feisty and vocal.  I picked out Blake, both the cat and his name (named after Blake from QAF who I think is adorable).  He was one of three brothers, all grey.  He was the runt.  Typical me, I always want to protect the weak and take care of them.  Celie was born to a stray cat and we took her in when she was only four weeks old (probably too soon, but she did fine).  She was the rambunctious one of the litter and of course that fits Lawrence well.  He picked the name "Celie" from his favorite book, The Color Purple.  It fits her.  She is full of life.  Anyway, I was looking at old pictures of them both the other day and could hardly remember Blake being that small.  They grow up so quick...just like kids. =)