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Dancing Demon
We had a long, gray week with plenty going on. Merritt is still doing his best with potty training. He's had a few accidents, but mostly success. His biggest obstacle is his own stubbornness. He simply refuses to go almost every time we suggest he should. Sometimes it seems he could have waited, and others it seems he was playing with fire.
I made him a sticker chart last Sunday so that he could document his progress and get a little rewarding activity of picking a sticker to put up on his chart each time. He was pretty excited about it the first day, and then seemed a bit indifferent for a few days. Kira tempted him with the promise of a small toy once he got to 20 stickers, and then since hitting that goal he's declared himself done with the chart. We'll keep at it, anyway.
Tuesday was the dress rehearsal for the talent show for which Carver auditioned and Kira was volunteering. Then the real show was on Thursday. The whole house went an hour early because Carver was supposed to be there by then (for some reason). All the young kids there just ran amok in the auditorium, Avey tried to do some homework, and Hannah and I tried to keep Hakan and Merritt from getting hurt.
I finally got Hakan to sit down and do his homework for a while, and then we took a trip to the restroom where both boys adamantly declined to use the toilets. About 2 seconds after we sat back down in the audience, waiting for the show to start, Hakan told me he needed to use the restroom. Of course. I walked back with him where he squirted soap all over his head because he misjudged the aim of the soap dispenser. We got him cleaned up, and then made it back to our seats to find Merritt livid that we left on our tour without him. So then he and I walked to the bathroom and back just in time for the show to start.
Carver did a great job, and afterwards, Hakan said, "Woah, I bet he won the award for the World's Best Dancer at this talent show!"
There was a 15-minute intermission, and Merritt was in full meltdown, demanding we find Kira, who was behind the curtains helping keep things coordinated. We found her, but he simply could not be consoled. He was clearly exhausted and needed to sleep, but refused to go home without Kira. After a lot of coaxing amidst weeping and wailing, he finally got in the car with the rest of us who weren't staying, and screamed and cried the whole way home for Kira. It was then a hostage negotiation to try to get him out of the car. I was also very tired, but I kept it together as I understood that he was just totally spent and needed bed. I knew his tantrum would fizzle out soon enough. Indeed it did, and so I got the younger boys to bed and then returned to pick up Kira and Carver, glad to have that day over.
Avey started basketball this week, and it sounds like it's been fun so far. They've been working on basic skills, and one day even did a more creative project of designing a mascot. She almost attended a school dance on Friday that was just geared toward having a good time and accepting people of all abilities. The problem was that we didn't know about it, and Kira and Hannah were leaving for the temple, taking the van, so Avey wouldn't have a ride. She called her friends to see if they could offer a ride, but it turned out her best friend also needed a ride, so they just didn't go. Maybe next time...
I started a bit of a project on Wednesday. We have a tall staircase at the top of which is a ceiling fan with a dim light. I never thought it looked particularly good there, and the fan wobbles a bit, so I started dreaming up what would be better there. After selling a car radiator that was in the house when we moved in, I used some of the money on a chandelier, and it arrived Wednesday. Hannah and Avey helped me put it together that night, and then I installed it just before bed.
I'm very pleased with the improvement, although I'm not totally satisfied with how the connection looks, so I'll probably revisit that in another few weeks when I'm feeling up for it.
The skies have been gray and dull all week, so we are very happy to have sunshine today and weather approaching the 50s. We're making plans for how to spend it, and even got Apollo a play date with his best dog friend whom he hasn't seen for several days.
This week should be calmer now that Kira and Carver are done with the talent show, though Kira kicks the week off with her client tomorrow morning. They hope to figure out a different time soon, but that will have to do for now. I have a week full of teaching as usual, and then a faculty meeting on Wednesday, so it's going to be a whole lot of Chicago for me this week. See you all on the other side of it...