I was trying to follow up on an expressed interest in bones. Can’t quite recall why Big was interested, but the other day she was, and we did skeletons and stuff. Then I thought that I could keep it going with a life size drawing of her, and we could do bones and organs and stuff. So we cleared the floor (took a while), drew round her (took a while) and I folded the paper so that we would end up with four copies and started cutting out…
It *seemed* like a good idea. But Small is just at that into everything non-cooperative stage that Big never actually went through (she’s probably saving it for later) and everything is such hard work! And then if I speak to Big about anything she doesn’t like I get the stomping and hair tossing, which I’m not settling for – I lost count of how many times I sent her out of the room today. I’m trying so hard not to shout at her, and it so isn’t working!
Best moment of the day though had to be when I told her that if she felt like answering me back, to count to ten under her breath instead, then got to listen to her count to ten, and *then* got answered back. Yargh indeed…
She thoroughly enjoyed the drawing round. Then she took her clothes off and drew round them so that the paper Big could have clothes too.
I drew round Small as well, and he scribbled on the paper. I don’t think he got the idea at all, but he wanted to lie on the paper ‘cos Big had done….
She did the skull, then got a bit confused with the hands. Drew the bones going sideways. So we looked at X ray pics (gotta love the google image search), drew round our hands, and drew the bones in them. That worked rather better, especially when she sat and actually felt at her hands to feel where the bones where. And all of that took pretty much all morning, what with dealing with Small being equally horrid and so on.
I did washing and washing up, and fed them a few times, and suddenly it was only an hour til her ballet session. Now we come back to the expectations thing. She knows what she needs for ballet, she knows where she dropped it last week, why should I go and find it for her? And why do I have to ask her to fetch each thing one by one? Just as well I started an hour in advance! We were still late, but it was because of a traffic jam in the road next to the lesson – it’s really narrow, and always parked up one side, so with a van coming down, and three cars trying to go up, it kind of ground to a halt.
Anyway, she enjoyed her lesson. And the big news of the evening – the next two lessons are going to be open to parents to watch! So I’ve signed up to watch on 9th December (for a donation of at least 20p to Breast Cancer appeal) and I’m really looking forward to it. I want to see what they do in there. Big isn’t particularly happy about the fact that other parents are going to be watching next week but I’m not, but by the time the list came round to me it was pretty packed for next week, besides, it gives Tim another week to get himself better so I can leave Small with him. Can’t see him handling a 45 minutes dance lesson sitting quietly!
For some reason they were both really silly tonight, and it took ages to get Small to stop turning the tv on and off and let me put his pjs on. So I’ve had enough now, and I’m off to bed. Night all.
Comments
8 responses to “So what was I trying to do?”
night! (Done that list for you on my reading blog btw) Sounds like a good day though in amongst the argh bits! Actually I’m glad Alex is getting that bit older now and isn’t quite at that stage. I hated it.
whats up with Tim? sounds like hes been poorly for a long time poor lamb
I am sincerely hoping that teenager type behaviour from my children now means they’re just getting the rebellious answering back/door slamming stuff out of the way now, and will miraculously transform into gorgeous helpful communicative people some time before the teenage years. We do occasionally get glimpses of it here. Had to love your ‘best moment of the day’, I can so imagine it!
And wrt the getting things ready – for *ages* with Anna I had to start an hour in advance, telling her each item individually, and it was *so* frustrating! She’s just started to sort herself out, and will now usually manage to be ready by a certain time – so there is light at the end of the tunnel on that score!
Hope you had a good night, anyway (not like me, lol!)
Tim has a “slipped” disc. I have had four months of not treatment from the NHS, during which it just got worse, followed by a month and a half of treatment privately (osteopath) during which time it has been improving steadily, but very slowly.
Yes, I’m looking forward to rational, reasonable teenagers too. Hmm.
Small’s at the most awkward age I think, for trying to do other stuff with older children. Don’t suppose you noticed it with Big, as you weren’t trying to do 4/5 year old stuff around her! It does pass though – things are much easier with Tallulah now.
And get your batteries sorted so we can see photos of the lifesize Big!
Yeah I can second what Alison said, Scarlett (who is only a few months older than Small I think) is suddenly much less of a pest when we try to do stuff and although she wants to join and can’t always do everything we are doing she does seem to enjoy it – and Davies’ competitive spirit means if she is having a go he *has* to do it and do it better than her 🙂
WRT them doing stuff for themselves, I SO kwym. ATM we are trying to start a tidy up after yourselves, only have a few toys out and put them away before getting the next lot out, But everytime I ask Davies to put something away he just begs for help, isists he can’t do it (many the time of late I have been heard yelling ‘What part of picking up sticklebricks and putting them back in the bucket does a 4yo think he can’t actually manage??’) and then melts down into a sobbing heap. His other favourite phrase of late is ‘Mummy, look at me’ in a demanding tone, which I know he got from me when he just looks past me to the TV or out the window when I am telling him off. Grr!
Hey this is much better actually, I’ll moan about my kids on other people’s comments, then I can save all the ‘for esther’ stuff for my own blog and people reading will assume I am that fab HE mummy I am aspiring to pretend to be 🙂
Big was a very different child compared to how Small is now. (Yes, I know you shouldn’t compare your children, and I’m not as such, it’s just that I find you have some expectations from how your first was, and so far, Small just hasn’t read the same book!) Mind, at this age, she was in nursery four days a week while I worked, and we always did fun stuff on Fridays like going out, so like Alison says, I wasn’t trying to do 4-5 year old stuff around her….but you could have fairly rational discussions with her, even at this stage. As Small isn’t talking at all, you can’t have any kind of discussion with him, distraction doesn’t work, and if I try telling him something I just get “Na!” and hysterical laughter…