so, you know that wobble I was having over whether dd2 has issues or not?

[NewBlueCoat]

Today, as every day, I left ds toddling about with both dds while I popped through to put their tea on (kitchen/dining room not a safe area for ds).

I come back through to find ds happily munching on crayons while dd1 is oblivious (unsurprisingly) and dd2 is glued to the tv. with the empty crayon box in her lap, where ds has emptied it

when I remove te crayons from ds, and express irritation that dd2 has left them where he can get his hands on them (all the while fishing bits of crayon out ofnhis mouth), dd2's main concern is....?

that he hasn't eaten her favourite colour! apparently it's all ok, as she still has her favourite one to draw with. so much for empathy!

oh, hang on, she did get a bit worried that ds would be too full to eat his tea

yes, I remember a bedtime a few years ago where I had to leave the dds and go and be horribly sick, and dd1 managed to ask if I was ok through her tears (phobia of being sick) whereas dd2 asked when I could finish reading the story...

still, a timely reminder not to worry that she doesn't have any issues!

DD3 was having a tantrum of epic proportions this afternoon. I mean truly epic - sweeping things off of the worktop in rage, pinching me, trying to get into a locked cupboard door,etc, so I made her go to her room to calm down for 4 minutes, but had to enforce this.

So, picture the scene:

DD3 screaming, shouting, kicking the door.

Me trying to keep her safely in her room to calm down.

DD2: Mum...can you get me paper so I can draw?

DD2 was oblivious to the commotion. She thought it was perfectly curious that I said I was a.little.bit.busy.right.now....

Hahahahahaha! Sorry. I can so picture the scene! Can't think why you are prone to the odd migraine.....

At least DD1 was at KIDS - although DD2 always reminds me that Wednesdays are the worst.day.of.her.life.

If I dare to ask why she says:

"You know!
What do we do on.a.Wednesday, in.the.afternoon, before.DD1.even.is.home????
Go and get her - that's what!!!!!
I absolutely hate it."

Same intonation, indignation and outrage every single time.

If you ask her what the solution is, she suggests that DD1 should walk or get a bus.

1.She's 8

1. She has Learning Difficulties
2. The school is 10 miles away

I can often be elbow deep, cleaning poo off DS2's bottom, legs and everywhere else it's managed to travel. DS1 will sit right next to me, sometimes and decide he needs me there and then. Often his demand is "I'm hungry". Yeah DS1, I'll just drop what I'm doing and go and prepare the 4th course of your breakfast for you, shall I?

Though my standard reply to "I'm hungry" or "I'm thirsty" is either "I'm your mum, how do you do" or, when I'm feeling less patient "that's nice dear." I've also told him "well you know where the tap is"

lougle - DS1 has his stock phrases that always get said in the exact same way. For the first time in a couple of weeks we had the request, right at the point of crossing with the lollipop lady "can we go a different way home". I've had to train myself not to be predictable in how I say hell no, or else he gets stuck and says it every day, without fail, then has the same monologue about this way being boring and so much longer and DS2 should walk and I hate school and, and....

I do 'Walk, Look and Say'.

That's because I got fed up being called like a slave to fix whatever ds' impulsive problem was when I was mid-dinner or nappy change.

At first the rules were to get him to simply walk to where he could see me before he spoke, then it became to look at my face, and now, the hardest one of all, to look at what I am doing and consider whether I am going to be able to listen or do anything about his issue.

Given ds only really talks when he wants something, it is proving quite effective to always say no to whatever he wants if I am busy, but yes if I am not. He is learning to 'wait' for a time that might get him a better answer. But he is REALLY bad at it.

DS always says 'I'm so tired of walking. I don't want to walk any more'. My usual response is 'hop then, or crawl'.

Sometimes I say, 'okay ds, you just wait there and I'll go and get the house'.

We lost our cat a few weeks ago Ds is very close to cat, we (as in rest of family) spent half a day looking high and low, we were all so upset at the thought that we had lost her, all Ds could say was 'oh well, if she's gone, she's gone'.
So matter of fact.
Also Ds hates having to pick up dd after school, lougle, says she should walk, it's so boring!