Toilet, Days Off and Off Days

James and I went to see a movie last Saturday. I don't remember the last time we went to a movie theater! I helped the boys put a new Lego table in their room, one that's not made of old pesticide barrels and scrap wood.

Thanks to Lewis, we had to take up the toilet for our Labor Day holiday. It was about as annoying as expected. The little wooden hammer he flushed was really stuck, and it took a lot of snaking, praying, and help from Kenny to finally grab the thing through the bottom of the toilet. We then reinstalled it without any problems, and I scrubbed the bathroom with disinfectant. On the bright side, it was nice and clean for a day. ;) We didn't do much for the rest of the day and got some Chinese for dinner as a reward for making it through such a yucky task.

The kids didn't have school on Tuesday, so we hung out and actually had a pretty good day. I'd been really worried about Katie on Monday. She wouldn't eat much, claiming her hands were poison, and had a big meltdown when it was time to go to bed because she thought her pillow and blanket were poisoned. I assured her that they were not and led her through some deep breathing exercises to help her calm down. Anxiety is no fun as an adult, but it's even worse when your child has to go through it. She was much calmer the next day, and I realized that getting enough sleep and food are essential for her, even if it takes some mild bribery. She has eaten mostly normally since Tuesday but sometimes washes her hands more than I think is necessary and eats finger foods with a fork. (Not a huge deal, but it's a little weird.) For the past two nights, James and I have assured her that there's no poison on her pillow. He dramatically vacuumed off her pillow before bed to "suck out the poison" and I had to lick it to prove it was okay last night. She laughed and settled down pretty quickly for both nights. I know kids go through stages where they're more nervous about germs, and I'm sure the pandemic while being in school hasn't helped.

Since Tuesday night (and yoga!), I've been feeling much better about my parenting skills. It's hard for me to stay calm sometimes when it feels like my younger 3 deliberately push my buttons, but I'm trying, and it's made a big difference. I've realized more and more over time that my older 2 are just easy kids who gave me unrealistic expectations for the others.

Now that we've been in school for 2 weeks, I feel that I've gotten used to the new schedule. Lewis and Samantha are still trouble when left alone, but they're doing a lot better than last year. I wish Samantha had more interest in potty training, but I know that will come with time. Lewis is doing really well with his online preschool, so I'm glad for that too.