ROBIEWANKENOBIE

yesterday was a HARD DAY with mr8. there was crying! there was gnashing of teeth! Many were the transgressions. Many privileges were revoked.

i'm pretty sure that the kid got up at 5:00 (who wants to sleep in on the weekends, i mean really), but i wasn't awake to verify. this should clear up the mystery regarding our policy on weekend teevee. i swear we would get our full on hippy on if it weren't for those early morning wake up calls. even after an enforced quiet time (i.e. nap) he was still being an asshat.

we do a lot of rotation in our family in order to make sure each kid feels like they have a voice in our organization and once a week? a kid gets to go with me to the grocery store. they get to pick out a treat for lunchboxes and we get to spend a bit of time together. it can be grand, or it can be irritating. guess which kid was up to bat for grocery store duty this week? laws.

we started out at the asian market. i absolutely adore mr.seoulmarket. he changed a tire for me when i was in the minivan (he insisted - which was sweet. i could have done it myself, but dang...changing a tire on a minivan is a royal pain), he sweetly teases the boys, and he always asks if they are behaving. yesterday he asked mr8 if he had been staying out of trouble. uhm, no. so he gave a lecture. your brother looks up to you, he said. if you're a troublemaker, he's going to want to be a trouble maker. you need to listen to your mom. go mr.seoulmarket go!

then we headed off to the grocery. lemmie just tell you - this kid was golden. he helped pick out fruit, he chose treats, and we talked about all sorts of stuff. he asked for a snack before we left and then inspiration struck! a picnic! there is a manmade pond behind the store, and so we took our sandwiches and headed out pondside. and all the tension? all the annoyances? just slipped away as we fed the fish and the ducks. we talked about all sorts of things and nothing at all.

when we got home? he slipped into bed with his harry potter and went to sleep. he's a pretty good kid, my mom would say, you should let him live. he really is, you know. i've just got to keep an eye open for chances to connect so that i can remember that.