Now I know why my child gets bit

See this face? Cute and Innocent? No...

I picked Owen up from daycare yesterday thinking it was going to be a good night. We were on our own, I had a plan, I thought it would be great. As soon as I got to the room, the teacher Angie was having the remaining four kids left for the night clean up some toys. She asked Owen to come help and instead he looked at her, looked at me, walked away and went up to a large toy (taller than him) and started dismantling it by throwing it across the room. "Owen, no" I said- a common phrase in my household. He continued throwing the toys. Danny, an 18 month old, came over and took the top piece that Owen threw. Owen grabbed him and tackled him and pulled him to the floor. Ok- I thought... here we go. Owen started throwing more toys and Lucas, a 20 month old, came over and Owen grabbed him by the hood of his sweatshirt and brought him to the ground. I couldnt believe it. Not my angel. Not my sweet little boy. I had never seen such aggressive behavior from him, in my life. So- now I know why he gets bit at school. He's an instigator. Though- it's always Nora who bites him and she and Owen have a love hate relationship. They are very much like brother and sister and I used to question why she always bit him. After seeing Owen today, I know why this happens.

So- back to last night...Owen then went to the cabinet where they keep suckers for the kids who stay dry all week and demanded a sucker. Both Angie and I told him no, and he threw himself onto the floor. Screaming, crying, full blown tantrum. I was so embarrassed. I told Owen I was leaving and was going to get Quinlin. I went into Q's room, and could still hear Owen throwing himself around. (the other kids in the room looked at him like he was nuts, by the way). I left Quinlin's room and tried to drag Owen with me. That didnt work. It was so bad that one of the assistant directors came down to try and help. Nothing was working. I finally, with the help of Q's teacher, Karen, got her coat on and ready to go and tried to focus on Owen.

I always thought I would be one of those parents who never would have to bribe their kid...Yep- no. I bribe. At this point, I choose which battles I want to win. Otherwise, it just isn't worth it for me. So- I talked calmly to Owen and had a brilliant idea. I offered up Quinlin's extra daycare binky. Oh- did that work wonders. So- he toddled on out, binky in mouth (purple binky with Quinlin's name on it), happy as a clam. I really need to break the binky habit. He uses it only at night in bed, so I felt like the one time walking out of school would be ok. But- what a disaster it's going to be when we take away the night one. I am dreading that day!

Off we left- to McDonalds- mother of the year- and came home, ate dinner, got my washing machine fixed while my friend Kerry and her son Adam were over and that was our night.

Quinlin's first McDonald's cheeseburger:

I gave her some spinach to make her dinner a little more healthy...

a much happier Owen (and a happy Hunter- who is always happy)

Oh- for those of you reading- avoid large loads with little socks. $100 later, we found a sock stuck in the pump of our washer. Yikes!

Mom of the Year

Inspired by an email conversation with my friend Karen this morning, I decided to do a mom of the year post- some of the things that I have done lately to inspire winning this award!

• Mom of the year- At my work, we get served breakfast, lunch and dinner if we work late enough. Yesterday, in addition to what they were serving for lunch, they had a soft pretzel, pb&j sandwiches and rice krispie treats. They also had cake to celebrate the November birthdays. I grabbed everything- everything with the intention of bringing it to Owen and Quinlin's doctors appointments to help calm them down after their flu shots. Well- I didnt really like what I had grabbed for lunch (the shrimp was good but the flank steak had a spice to it) so I ate the sandwich. I then got hungry in the afternoon and ate the cake. I was still a good mom- I had the krispie treat- until about 3pm when I ate that too. So- no treats for Owen.
• Mom of the year- we're planning for our family pictures on Saturday. I have been so consumed with what the babies were going to wear, what I was going to wear, I didnt give any thought to what Hunter was going to wear. The kid is growing like a weed too- I can't imagine any of his nice sweaters will fit him that he wore last year. How did I forget Hunter? And- I better try on Quinlin's dress- or her outfit goes out the window too.
• Mom of the year- Quinlin still doesn't own a single pair of shoes.
• Mom of the year- Are you wondering how the crib transition has been going? Owen prefers to sleep on the floor. So- we tuck him in on his makeshift bed- aka folded comforter on the floor- and that's where he goes to sleep. Even if we put him in his crib, he crawls out and sleeps on the floor.
• Mom of the year- on weekends, I count down the hours until naptime.