Can’t Have Nice

Thane woke up earlier this morning earlier than he had been – which is a good thing considering he should have been at school and I am just taking off until Monday because Braeden is off until then. He gave me fits about getting dressed. He threw something at me, which made me jump funny, and made my lower back hurt on the left side. Gee, thanks! I really needed that.

He got mad and started to do the whole “I mad! I stomp!” routine, which is at least very funny if not useful. But it was going to include a door slam, so I reminded him he needed to be nice to the door. “I CAN’T HAVE NICE!!!!!!!” SLAM! So, I wait it out. He stomps around for a good 10 minutes repeating that “I can’t have nice!” and “No way!” I tackle him and get his shirt on, walk off, and start making breakfast for everyone.

It’s time for our lovely morning behavioral therapy session – otherwise known as eating in most households, but this is totally unnatural so the therapist calls it sessions. As I get things on the table, the oil truck shows up. Just what I needed was to be undressed, serving breakfast at 10 a.m., and to have the oil guy show. I said to Braeden that we’d just hide and let him leave the bill – another $500 down the drain (then it was “only” $298, but I think he came a week early just to get my goat).

”I can’t have breakfast!” Nope, sorry, you will eat, I lift him with my aching back and put him in his chair. I guard against food tossing and drink spilling until we reach our goal, though with an X for lack of compliance. I failed too as I realized as I was doing it that I didn’t fully “prompt” right or “prompt fade” correctly. Luckily there is no score sheet for mommy, but she still knows she blew it.

I took a shower and did some chores and then went to have snack a little early since I need to condense meals a bit because breakfast was supposed to happen before 9. That goes OK . . . he didn’t finish, but what he had chosen wasn’t something he typically finishes (which is a whole other issue, I mean the child eats half a grape, just the puffy part of the popcorn, no crust but won’t touch it if it is crustless, etc., etc.)

Lightning McQueen was missing – he was thrown into the ravine behind the couch (a sectional that is bolted together). We use a “magic stick” to retrieve it. Then he gets mean and tosses it at Braeden who is reading a book in the kitchen. Braeden takes it and says he will return it when Thane apologizes. “I NO HAVE SORRY!” After he extracts an adequate apology from Thane, Braeden tells him he needs to be nice. Oy, not again . . . apparently the wrong choice of words . . . “I CAN’T HAVE NICE!!!!!!” and he wings Lightning as hard as he can at the glass-top range that is still pretty new. I haven’t really had the nerve yet to check for damage. Lightning just missed the fairly new stainless dishwasher after hitting the stove. Thane ran around to the other side of the kitchen island to grab the car and was looking like he was going to try again, I grabbed his hands, took Lightning and put him in an activity time out. Thane started screaming so hard that Braeden and I just watched him turn red and then purple. He screamed a good 10 minutes (length of timeout for throwing a toy).

I think Braeden is trying to make sure Mommy doesn’t get too stressed as he is old enough to know she doesn’t always recover well from morning terrors, so he is playing with little bro upstairs – they are making a fort, reading books, and have been up there for a half hour.