These past few months have been... difficult with Adam. He has been throwing some MAJOR tantrums and picking on Grace a lot and just being difficult, in general. I changed his diet (cut back on the sugar and artificial stuff), and that's helped. I've made sure he has gotten more sleep, and that's helped, too.
But, I figured out that the main thing he needed was attention. I just don't give him as much as I give Grace. Not that I love her more or anything. But, if you've been reading this blog at all, you probably can understand why I follow her around, try to distract her, and play with her a lot: because she's a catastrophe waiting to happen. The second she's out of my sight, she's in trouble. Adam doesn't need me all of the time anymore, so (I think) he's been acting out to get more time.
A few weeks ago I made him a deal: if he could go 2 weeks with no tantrums, and was better at obeying and nicer to Grace, I would take him to see Wall-E. He has never been to a 'movie theatre' before, and has been dying to see Wall-E ever since he saw the previews.
So, he did it. And we went last night, after FHE. And now we're not going to be able to afford to eat next week. Just kidding... but, seriously. How expensive ARE movies? Wow!
He was SO excited all day, and after a quick dinner and lesson, we headed off to the movies! [Side note: totally annoyed that every movie theatre here (besides the scary dollar theatre) is in a casino. Not fond of bringing Adam through those.]
Anyways, aside from him thinking it was a bit loud (he got used to it after a while), we had a BLAST! He loved the seats, that the theatre was so dark, and how the 'screen was bigger than a house!' I really enjoyed the movie, and thought it was well-made. However, it is a little... abstract? Is that the word? I don't know. It's about the future, and the earth being ruined, and it was a little hard for Adam to grasp. About halfway through, he turned to me and said, "Mom, I really like this movie. Wall-E is super funny. But I have no idea what's going on." It's just one of those movies where the pieces fall into place as you watch, and it was hard for him to understand. So, I gave him a brief synopsis, and he seemed to get it then. After the movie, we came home and relayed it to Mike and Grace, before playing some games together. Sigh... love our family!
I think that this is something that we are going to try and do on a monthly basis. Not the movies, necessarily, because... expensive much? But, the date with mom or dad thing. How sad is it that Mike and I are going to 'date' our son more than each other? :) It was so nice getting to spend time with just Adam, though, and talk and joke and laugh, without having to worry about Grace or doing laundry or cooking. So fun. I just love my little sunshine. And I hope that this little bit of extra attention just for him will help him today when I'm trying to keep Grace from dumping out an entire box of cereal (like she did yesterday). :)
2 comments:
Adam's smile says it all...good job, Mom! And, thank you, Mike, for taking over "watching and protecting" Gracie!
I think that its great that you are going on dates with your kids. The main thing about growing up that I remember is never having any time alone with my mom. It was hard and I ended up wanting to spend most of my time at a frinds house because his mother spent time with me. Oh and you should check to see if your theater has a time that they are cheaper. On friday, Saturday, and Sunday before noon ares are $5 compared with the normal $10.50.
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