A Splash of Color

Small boy went to school without lunch today. I gave him the option, "eat the sandwich you didn't eat yesterday now...or no lunch"
And WHY didn't he eat it? "I like them but I like them when they're folded in half, this one wasn't" My responce "Then why didn't you fold it in half and eat it?" He just stared at me. and walked out the door. I made him stop because I was asking him a question, and he growled "No!" "Youre not going to eat it so you don't want lunch?" "Noo.."

And what do I have to do half an hour after sending him to school? I have to make a special lunch for him because they're going to the Hulsbeek for a special easter party that I had no knowledge of. He came home at 845 with a little yellow piece of paper, he needs to be back at school at 10.

Damnitall.

So we had a meltdown today at lunch.
When I took his airplane away (after having asked and told him 7 times to take it back upstairs, I was trying to clean to get stuff ready for HIS birthday party. He turns 9 Saturday.) He freaked out. After the screaming and crying was done, he looked at me and said that he wished I would just go back to America.

Ouch.
Love it. .

My day has not really been going well. Thats all you guys hear about, but those of you that actually read my journal know that I'm really just blowing off steam. It's my journal to vent in so that's what I'm going to do. This morning wasn't really good, since he broke several rules before I was even out of bed. (No TV in the morning, Getting dressed when we get out of bed Etc.) And he was eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the white couch. In this house, food goes on a plate at the table. Not on the placemat, not on the couch not on the floor...On a plate. There are specific circumstances where that changes but they are rare. But he was sent off to school with breakfast inside him and an umbrella because it was raining.

So he doesn't get home until 1235, he gets off school at 12 and it only takes 10 minutes to walk home. He shuts the door (yay!) and comes upstairs. I'm in our bedroom and I am just fiddling around with my computer.
"Can I come in?" Not wanting to deal with prying him from my computer I say No.
"But I love you Diane"
"I love you too...what did you come upstairs for?" No responce "Collin what do you want?" No Responce. So i hear him go downstairs, and i hear him opening the sack of bread. I think Hey he's taking the initiative and making himself a sandwich! Yay! Celebrate! He's going to be 9, he can make himself a sandwich, especially when he really only wants butter and sprinkles.
He comes back upstairs a while later to play, and I go into his room to send him back to school.
"But I haven't had anything to eat..."
"What?"
"You didn't make me anything"
"I asked you what you wanted, and you said nothing...so you must not have wanted anything"
"But..."
"I know you can make yourself a sandwich. I've seen you do it. I know you can"
"But..."
"But you need to go back to school"
"Can I take an apple with me?"
"Yes"

And he goes back to school...without the umbrella since he broke it between school and home. 2 spines are broken. I don't know what he did with it (He says he didn't do anything) . But what's funny is now I feel insanely guilty for not feeding him. For not having lunch ready on the table for him when he got home. I am not a lousy step mom for that. He's almost 9 thats not to young. I should not feel guilty.

Today went almost exactly as I had expected. I got a kiss and a "Happy Valentines Day" from Richard and together we made lasagna.

There were 2 things today that did not go as I'd expected.
The first was at about 9AM or so we hear a knock on the door. Boy. Then shortly after we hear
"papa?" when responded to through the door boy says "ik heb ontbijt voor je gemaakt." Which means..."I've made breakfast for you." Richard and I exchange looks and in comes boy with a pair of breakfast sandwiches with chocolate sprinkles and 2 cups of Orange juice.


The Second thing that was entirely unexpected was this...

I'm laying in bed, after breakfast and I hear a thud. Richard was going downstairs, and then I heard a Yelp and "FUCK!" Any of those by themselves is not always a bad thing, but always is responded to by a "You ok down there?" All three together in a short amount of time is ALWAYS a bad thing. Yeah. Having slammed his foot into the little barrier at the bottom of the door between the hallway and the bathroom, Richard had in fact broken his toe. It's a lovely shade of violet all the way around and quite swollen. There will be photos. It's plain to me that it is broken, but there's nothing you can do for a broken toe even if you go to the doctor and get it seen.

Love it.

My latest project. You like it?

Belgian chocolates are evil things. Their call is terribly enticing.

We had some fun the other day. It's evening, we're cooking dinner. Mini meat platter and cucumbers with sauce, so that you can cook the meat as you will on a hotplate that is on the table. I turn up the hotplate when asked, but don't really look at the thing. A few moments later, Insert the smell of burning wood. Queue enjoyment of smell, for a brief moment till I notice the table is smoking. "Holy shit its burning the table!" is i think what comes out of my mouth as i grab the oven mitts and unplug the damned thing. Richard had tried to grab it, and only succeeded in burning his finger. Dork. There are two charred circles on my once lovely wooden table. Now the kicker to all of this is...Richard was having quite the off day and put the hot plate on the table......upside down. All I could do was laugh.

Unfortunatly now i have to deal with having the 'tapestry' on my table. Bleh. I really don't like it, but it's been in the family for 20 years, aparently his grandmother made it.

We had an amusing night last night. Didn't start out that way, but i'm glad it ended that way. I can't remember the last time I laughed this much. He even made me snort. Not fair.

Seriously though, I was trying to explain to him while we were watching View from the Top how odd it is for me to not be spending Christmas with my family. This will be the first time that I've been away for christmas in 24 years. I;ve never decorated a house for christmas essentially by myself. I don't have my christmas stocking (Hell I don't even know where it is). Different. It doesn't feel like MY christmas. [Insert weepy girl here]
His responce to that was "No, its not your christmas, it's our christmas...we'll start making new family traditions" This of course made me smile. He kissed me after that and then laughed. When I asked what he was laughing at he said "I'm Kissing your teeth"

Much hilarity insued after that. I do so love that man.

The office is this months project. I want my own space in the house so...I must make it. Because the list has now begun to make me giggle. This is the List of things that do not belong in the computer room/office of a home.

1. Toilet bowl cleaner
2. Aftershave
3. Old used toothbrushes
4. Boxes full of old motherboards/modems/circuitboards
5. Earrings
6.
Anything that does not at this time work.


On the other hand there are things that I was glad to find:

1. Old family photos (richard in school, his batallion ambulance, collin's sonogram photos)
2. Every letter i've ever sent him
3. Stories written in his own handwriting
4. box full of crystals and other polished stones.
5. Gum erasers (awesome!)
6. A penile shaped bottle opener
7.

Im sure this will get updated during the day...

So, with all the rain here near every day...I was wondering if winter ever really came to this crazy country.

It's been snowing a little bit the past couple of days. I've been pretty happy with the flurries, as I love to watch it snow from the privacy and warmth of my own home. Oh FYI, riding one's bike in the snow, not the greatest of idea's ever. But it wasn't ME who rode into a parked car yesterday. Hehe. So this morning I wake up and there is a good inch of snow on everything.

Wicked Awesome.