Taking the Scenic Route

You know you live in Kansas when this happens in April, a few days before Easter.

We have had a few more inches since the kids were outside playing, so it is actually much whiter as I look out the window now, and it’s still snowing.  Zach and Zora are at the store picking up some crackers for Chili and some salt for the front steps (in case it gets cold enough to freeze and get slick). 

I am so glad Thursday is nearing it’s end.  Wednesday and Thursday are normally our busiest days, made even busier this week by appointments with the Oral Surgeon and Dentist for Zach, and only one car.  I felt like a taxi driver today.  Zane went to school, and then back, then I took Zach to school, Zane to school/literacy group, pick up Zach from School and take him to the Dentist, go get Zane from school, go back and pick up Zach before heading home. 

The suckiest part of the day was after I was returning from dropping Zach off from school and I smelled something really bad from the back seat.  I didn’t know which butt created it at the time, but I knew we needed to stop by home before going back to the school for Zane.  It was Zora (which is good), but since we were home and the weather was getting colder, I made the mistake of trying to change Zane’s outfit.  Oh boy.  He did not want to take off his shirt, then he didn’t want to get the new one on, and he didn’t want to put on pants or socks or shoes.  It was an all out battle, with him pulling one leg out of the pants while I tried to shove the other leg in…over and over again.  Same deal with the socks, all the while Zane screaming and Zora getting upset seeing Zane screaming.  It was just lovely.  *cough*cough*  Then he wouldn’t go out to the car, so I had to take Zora out first, get her strapped into the car seat, and go back to get him.  As I walked back to the door, he sees me coming and tries to close and lock the door.  I got there in time to keep from having to unlock it, and when he saw I was getting back inside he ran away.  I caught him, and had to carry him, kicking and screaming, out to the car.  When we got to the school, he actually got out of the car just fine, and I was so relieved.  However, he had another meltdown in the lobby.  Thankfully, I glimpsed some of the Kaliadascope student teachers and asked if they could keep an eye on Zora when I set her down to retrieve him.  One of them engaged Zora and his regular student teacher poked her head around the corner and helped to talk to Zane and help him decide to go to the classroom under his own steam.  Whew.  He actually did very, very well once in the classroom.  He was participating right away.  You would never know by looking at his behavior in class that getting there was such a battle.

At the end of the class I got a real treat.  As they were dismissed, he ran out the door, but I needed to talk to the teacher for just a bit, and one of the student teachers helped get him back into the room (ok, that part wasn’t great, but it gets good here…).  When he came back in the classroom, one of the other boys was pulling out the big unit blocks and starting to build.  Zane joined him.  Then another boy joined and the three of them played together building a tower.  (according to one boy it was a machine,the other it was a playground).  They pointed and built and worked together.  I don’t think I have ever seen him play with peers like that before.  A little girl from the group was the ‘little mama’ type and immediatly lead Zora into the little play kitchen area and was totally engaged with her.  For the first time in my entire life, I watched both of my kids happily engaged with kids and playing.  It made me so happy I started having to wipe away tears as I watched.  What a wonderful thing.  Poor Zach was stuck at the dentist waiting for a while because I just didn’t want to interupt the playing because it seemed too special and important to interupt.  Zach, being the wonderful man he is, wasn’t upset once he heard what happened.