Domestic Psychology

boy v. girl

// June 26th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // preschoolers, siblings

“Mooooom!”

Amy’s voice is extremely animated and expressive. She has a very specific tone if the problem is her little brother. When I heard her call me in that special way of hers, I expected to see her brother sitting on her, trying to steal a toy or doing any of the many, many things that he does only to annoy her. I didn’t expect what I actually saw. Amy was running hither and yon with her brother inches behind her the whole way. He pulled a sucker out of his mouth, slapped it in her hair, licked the sucker and stuck it in her hair again. “Evan! Stop right now!” Startled, he dropped the sucker and Amy raced to me for safety. Before I could even speak, Evan picked the sucker up and popped it in his mouth. “I just ate some grass.”

Amy + Evan = trouble

// April 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // play, siblings, video

*alternate title – “Mommy is tah-red”

12 Days of Christmas (our version)

// December 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // holidays, siblings

On the first day of Christmas, my children gave to me, one lump on the head.
On the second day of Christmas, my children gave to me, two different black eyes.
On the third day of Christmas, my children gave to me, three hangnails.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, four headaches.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, five thorns in fingers.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, six bloody noses.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my children gave to me, seven lashes stuck in eyes.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, eight contusions from falls.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, nine tummy aches.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, ten hurt feelings.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my children gave to me, 11 skinned up knees.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my children gave to me, 12 broken Christmas lights in someone’s foot.

character soup

// November 13th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // kid quotes, siblings

Amy: puts can of Shrek soup on counter “Can I have Shrek soup with dinner?”
Me: “Sure.”
Evan: puts can of Cars soup on counter “Can I have Lightning McQueen soup with dinner?”
Me: “We will have one soup. You and Amy need to agree on which one.”
Evan: drops can of Shrek soup on floor “We agree on mine.”

They ate Spongebob soup.

mastering sibling rivalry

// July 28th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // kid quotes, preschoolers, siblings

Amy: “Evan, you stay out of my room or I will call the police and they’ll put you in jail.”
Evan: “Mommmmy!”
- – - – - – - – - – - – -
Amy: “Where’s my penguin that was in the living room?’
Evan: “I called police and they put it in jail.”
Amy: “Mooooom!”

How to know it’s time to go home:

// March 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // flickr, preschoolers, siblings

falling like dominos

// February 19th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // health, parenting, preschoolers, siblings

The plague is slowly working its’ way through our house. Sarah was the first to spike the fever that never ends and sleep like Rip Van Winkle. The only sign remaining that she was sick is her hacking cough and crotchety disposition. Now it’s Evan’s turn. His fever peaks in the wee hours of the night and I hold him close, trying to will the fever out of his body. Amy and Noah ignore my pleas to give Evan a wide berth. Noah has to hug Evan every time he walks past him. During the breaks in the fever, Evan will be calmly playing with toys and Noah will still feel compelled to give Evan a worried hug. “No hugs. I busy.” Within ten minutes, Noah will be hugging Evan again. Amy is just as determined to be the next sick person. If Evan is playing, she is two inches from his face – quizzing him. “How do you feel NOW?” “I fine.” “No. You are SICK!” At least she is more compassionate during his feverish times. She brings him stuffed animal after stuffed animal. This would be fine except that as mentioned earlier, I hold Evan whenever his fever is high. It’s very difficult to hold a dozen furry toys when you are also holding a human heating pad who is talking about sharks biting him.

obligatory 2009 post

// January 1st, 2009 // 3 Comments » // aspergers, home, life, me, parenting, preschoolers, siblings

Instead of the “eat healthy, exercise daily, lose weight” lie, I have a “to do” list for 2009. In no particular order, my year is beginning with me:

• learning a new skill – which is scary, because I’m an old dog who may not be able to learn a new trick, especially with the whole world all of Knoxville watching me learn.
• moving the boys into different bedrooms – a chaotic and messy process that will please Noah, disorient Tommy and get Evan out of our bedroom.
• micromanaging the college student – since he treated his first semester at school like a very expensive summer camp.
• sending things that we don’t USE to Goodwill – because someone who needs the stuff using it is much better than it taking up space just in case we might need it someday.
• potty training Evan – unless someone wants to come over and do it for me, cause I have tried everything and nothing has worked yet.

Amy says:

// December 30th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // kid quotes, parenting, siblings

“Why can’t I have a twin? I want a twin.”

Amy has a talent for demanding the impossible. I should have told her I gave her a room of her own for 9 months.

the Santa whisperer

// November 15th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // preschoolers, siblings

In the escalating love-hate struggle between the 3 and 6 year-old, I have been cautiously optimistic that the 6-y-o would eventually start using her brain and stop using her tears. Yesterday, instead of the usual scream like a banshee and wail in misery because he “wouldn’t stop looking at me,” Amy locked herself in her bedroom. Well, locked is not an accurate description. Since Evan has an unnatural ability to pick any lock, Amy barricaded herself in her bedroom. Evan pounded on the door and demanded to be let inside. Amy calmly replied that she was busy telling Santa about the very naughty Evan. Evan freaked. I could see the gleam of satisfaction in Amy’s eyes shining through the closed door, sideways chair, tiny desk and pile of stuffed animals. Evan grabbed my cell phone and demanded that I call Santa. He mumbled something about being a good boy in the phone and went back to check on Amy. She moved the pile of furniture and let Evan in the room. I was amused with Amy, sad for Evan and a little bit creeped out by the drama. Was Amy just pretending or was she actually praying to Santa Claus?