The John Dickson Fridays

Oh, John Dickson... John Dickson, John Dickson, John Dickson... I could go on and on just saying his name and shaking my head, but that's no fun to read. What have we gotten ourselves into?? This kid is too smart. Seriously.

So, as you may know, I have John Dickson and Henry all to myself Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. In order for this to work, John Dickson has to be cooperative. Has to "listen", if you will. He, however, has decided to do everything in his power to do just the opposite. Consequences? HA, he says. Take for example, last night. He had to go to his room for a little bit, so he went, without so much as protesting. Then he threw his fan down. When this didn't get me in there, he peed, on purpose. He then slid his underwear out under the door and said "need to put this in the dryer, Mama".

Later last night, he was supposed to be sleeping. He wanted to come out and play. So... he says "I pee pee jammies, Mama". So I open the door, and he is holding his diaper and his pajama pants. I felt his pants, and they were dry, so I told him we would put on a new diaper. I then walked past him to get the new diaper, and he runs out of the room as fast as he can.

He also has this ability to turn control back to him. I don't know how he does it, but I don't even realize it has happened until I realize what I have just said. He's like a wizard. So, we will put him in his room, and he will stay there for a good maybe 10 minutes. Then, when we go to get him out, he says no, and he slams the door in our faces. Then I find myself asking him permission for me to come in his room!! It's insane.

If you know John Dickson, you know he is nothing if not a milkaholic. So last night, when we were going to get him milk, and he decided not to listen, he got water instead. He had water for dinner, and was told if he listened, he would get milk after his bath. He was totally cool with that. This child has NEVER been cool with not having milk. It's totally worth it to him, if it means he can do the opposite of what I want him to do.

We're running out of ideas... and no, we do not, nor will we, do spankings. So if you've got some better suggestions, we'd love to hear them. In the meantime, John Dickson will just continue to drink water, not watch "Old NcNonald", not take baths, go to bed early, spend time in his room, and sleep without his tower fan. And he'll be A-ok with that... that's the challenge.

On an unrelated note, I asked John Dickson last night if he was my baby. He told me he had a booger in his nose. Good times.