A Saturday with Max

Today, my husband wanted to paint our fence because it might be the last day of the year with good weather. Yesterday, he and Aaron went to Home Depot, bought all the supplies, and this morning, they started painting.

Max wanted to be outside with the guys. We told him he could watch, but he was not to get in the way, and he should not touch the fence.

We have one of those white childproof doorknob covers on the inside of the door that leads from our kitchen to the garage. We do this to keep Max from going in the garage. We have a very good reason for this.
One day when Aaron was three, we heard the garage door opening, then ran to the garage to discover him sitting in the front seat of the van. He had just opened the garage door by pushing the opener in the van, and he had the keys in the ignition, just ready to go for a drive. (I'm really glad we caught him before he started the car and put it into gear, if he had gone forward, he would have ended up in our family room, neutral, he would have rolled down the driveway and ended up on the neighbor's lawn and reverse, he would have backed across our circle and ended up in our other neighbor's living room)
Anyway, ever since then, we have kept the door from being opened by small children.

Today, after Max had watched the painting for a while, he came running in the house and yelled,

"MOM! MOM! DON'T LOOK OUTSIDE! OUR TREE IS NAKED!"

Apparently, the tree in our front yard has lost all of it's leaves, and Max felt that it was inappropriate to look at it with no leaves.
Then I had to stop what I was doing and open the door so he could go back outside.
A while later, Max came running in the door again.

"MOM! MOM! CAN I RIDE MY BIKE!"

I told him he could if he stayed in the driveway, then I had to stop what I was doing to let him out again.
Next he came running in the house with his helmet on his head.

"I can't get my helmet buckled up!"

So I untangled the straps and hooked them up for him, then let him out the door again.
About 20 minutes passed when he came running back in the house "MOM! I'm done riding my bike and I can't get my helmet off!"

I unhooked his helmet then opened the door for him again.

I didn't see him for a while until he came running in the house again, this time he was waving his hand around in a panic, and was very close to tears.

"I NEED TO WASH MY HAND! I NEED TO WASH MY HAND!"

I ask him why he needs to wash his hand and he starts crying "I have paint (sob) on my finger!" (sob, sniff)
I looked at his hand and sure enough, there was a spot of white paint on the end of his finger. "Did you touch the fence?" I ask.
"Yes" he admits, with a big tear running down his face.

I sent him into the bathroom to wash his hand then I went outside and asked my husband what happened, he had no idea, so I told him what Max had just done, and he laughed. "We kept telling him not to touch the fence, I guess he went ahead and did it then realized that he was going to get caught when we saw the paint on his hand."

So Max was freaking out and trying to cover up so nobody would know that he had disobeyed.
Sneaky kid.

I was getting tired of having to stop what I was doing every few minutes to let him out, so I went ahead and took the doorknob cover off the door so Max could come and go as he wanted to.
Max was so excited about his new found freedom that he kept going in the house, then back out to the garage, back in the house, out to the garage again, in the house......................

You get the picture.

After this went on for a while, I got a great idea. Since this was probably going to be the last warm day of the year, why not just put the Christmas lights up!

Now I know that there will be some of you that will criticize me for wanting to do this, especially after yesterday's post where I blast Sears for playing Christmas music this early in the year, but for these people, I will point out the following.
1) I am not playing Christmas music. (Except any Christmas songs by Britney Spears, because, seriously, nothing puts me in the Christmas mood more hearing Britney sing The little drummer boy. If only she would record her own version of Christmas Shoes..............) (that one is for you Kristina)
2) We won't actually be turning on the lights until Thanksgiving.
3) If you had the choice of putting up lights when it's 60 degrees outside or waiting until it's like 32 degrees and snowing, which would you choose?

I thought so.

Anyway, I went outside and suggested to my husband that we put up the lights today and he thought it was a great idea! (not really, but let's just pretend he did)
I came back inside and it wasn't long before Max came running in the house again.

"Mom! We need to take down our scarecrows, Halloween is over!"

I told him that scarecrows can be Thanksgiving decorations too and that we would leave them out for a few more weeks.
Then he went back outside.
A few minutes later, Max came running in again.

"MOM! MOM! Isn't Thanksgiving the next holiday? Doesn't Thanksgiving come before Christmas?"

I tell him yes, then he goes back outside.
Almost immediately he comes back in the house, and in his best I'm tattling to get somebody in trouble voice, he says,

"MOM! Is it OK for Dad and CJ to be putting the Christmas lights on the house?!?"

"Yes Max, I asked them to do that today."

"BUT YOU SAID THAT THANKSGIVING IS THE NEXT HOLIDAY, NOT CHRISTMAS!"

I told him not to worry because we wouldn't be plugging them in until after Thanksgiving.

This seemed to satisfy him for a while.

After the lights got put up (Thank you, Honey!) (Not that my husband will see that, because he doesn't read my blog) Max put the doorknob lock back on the door, DH took the boys out for pizza and I took Brielle to do some shopping.

When we all got back home, Max climbed in my lap, gave me a hug and said "I missed you Mom."
Oh how sweet!
Then I smelled his breath.

He had some of the worst garlic breath that a four year old can have.
"EEEEEWWWWWWW Max! How much pizza did you eat? You're breath smells awful!"
Then he proceeded to breathe in my face, in between bouts of uncontrollable laughter.

Apparently, it's funny to gross out your mother, so funny in fact, that CJ and Aaron tried breathing in my face too. They ganged up on me, all sending garlic fumes towards my nose at the same time...............

I'm just telling you right now, it's. NOT. Funny.

I grabbed Brielle, and we left to run a few more errands.

When we got back home, it was time for Max to get in his pajamas. This is something that this kid drags out as long as he can. He wants me to help him, but he's 4 1/2 years old, plenty old enough to put on his pajamas himself. We finally get him to go into his room to get ready for bed, then I hear,

"MOM! I CAN'T FIND ANY PAJAMAS! WHERE ARE MY PAJAMAS?!?!"

I yell to him that they are in the dryer.

Then Max comes running into the family room wearing nothing but his socks.

CJ screams.

Brielle screams.

Aaron screams.

Max SCREAMS! (while streaking across the room)


Aaron says "Dude, go get some pants on."

Then Max runs through the kitchen and into the laundry room.
Moments later, he streaks back through the family room, holding his pajamas above his head, causing everyone to scream again.

He was in his room for a while when he calls to me,

"MOM! I FORGOT TO GO POTTY! CAN I GO POTTY?"

I wonder why he feels like he needs to ask me first, then I tell him that it's probably a pretty good idea to go potty.

Then he comes running through the family room again, still swinging free, wearing only socks.

Everyone screams as he runs into the bathroom by the laundry room.

When he comes out of the bathroom, I ask him "Why didn't you just use the bathroom at the end of the hall by your room?"
He looks at me blankly, then giggles "Oh, I forgot about that one."

He runs through the family room to his bedroom, causing everyone to scream again.

He finally comes out of his room with his pajamas on, by then, everyone else is in their pajamas so I tell him it's time for him to go to bed.

He looks puzzled and says "But we didn't eat dinner. What are we going to have for dinner?"

When my husband and the boys went for their pizza, it was late afternoon, around 4:30. I told Max that he already had pizza for dinner.

"That wasn't dinner, that was LUNCH!"

So I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and put him to bed. As I tucked him in, I kissed him on the cheek and said "Good night sweetie" and he said "Tomorrow when I get up you need to say to me "Good Day"
I told him that I would say "Good Morning" to him when he wakes up.
"NO! I not did say for you to say good morning, I want for you to tell to me Good Day!"

"OK Max, I'll say Buenos Dias."

"No, Good day!"

"Bonjour?"

No! Good. Day!"

"OK Max, Good Day."

"No, TOMORROW is Good Day, tonight is Good Night."



I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings ;0)