Seth's First Gotcha Day

Yesterday was Seth's first gotcha day with us. I can't believe a year has passed by so quickly. We have really made a ton of progress in that year. Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of room for improvement, but things are so much better than they were 6 months ago.

We didn't tell Seth it was his special day. The thought of it would have been too much for him to be able to hold himself together all day. On top of that, the boys and I are all sick with a cold and we had a funeral to attend in the afternoon. Chris and I decided that I would stay home with the sick and grumpy crew and he would attend the funeral. Kaytee came to watch the boys while I grocery shopped.

When I walked in from shopping, I had balloons and a cake for Seth. That was 5 pm and that is the first he knew it was his special day. Even so, the rest of the evening was chaotic and less than celebratory. No one wanted to eat dinner or even sit still long enough for the rest of us to eat. Right after dinner we lit the candles, sang Happy Gotcha Day and ate cake. Jammies, a quiet movie and bed all came in swift succession.

Today I am paying for the celebration. Seth is out of control and that has the other two reacting in poor ways. Time out has been a revolving door all morning. There has been kicking, screaming, nasty trash talk and the breaking of things. We have had to put ice on one boo-boo when one child pushed over a wooden stool that hit another in the knee. Thank goodness I get to go to work for a few hours this afternoon. I am tired and still sick and not really up to the challenges today. I am not at my best therapeutic parenting. Today the idea of crates for kids sounds like a really good idea......or maybe duct tape. Just kidding! Tape leaves marks! Hahahahahahahahahah

OK, CPS worker, the last sentences above are purely comic relief, a tool we all use to de-stress when our kids are really wound up. Laughter helps everything, even our kids. They relax when we relax so we use whatever tools we have in our arsenals on these tough days. Laughter, lean on friends, blog our feelings and the occasional use of sarcasm. OK, more than occasional in my case. Heavy doses of sarcasm!