More Candy/Pushing Boundaries

Monday I found about 20 Halloween Candy wrappers behind the tv. Behind the TV, underneath a picture frame, and a couple DVD cases. Apparently Jupiter has learned that the behind the rocking chair hiding spot had worn out its usefulness because I now check it daily. Monday night I tried to give her cough syrup before bed. I should know better than to try this. Ever since she had to take Flagyl, she's been resistant to taking liquid medicine. (Have you tried liquid flagyl? I can see her point on this.) 45 minutes of trying to convince her it wasn't the gross medicine, trying to get her brave enough to take it herself, trying to get her to let me give it too her. After the 45 minutes, to change the dynamic to something positive, we got into the car in our pyjamas (Jupiter) and grape dimetapp soaked shirt (me) and drove the half a block to CVS to buy melty strips. God bless the person who invented melty strips. She's not afraid of those. The doctors always think I'm nuts if she needs medicine and I ask if she can possibly have a shot. I think next time I'll bring them the medicine and suggest THEY get her to take it.

Wednesday she poured her lemonade onto the aquadoodle, and tried to convince me it was an accident. Kept boundary pushing all morning. (hid the gum in her room and chewed the whole package after I had told her she couldn't have more gum because she did something she wasn't supposed to with the last wad of gum she had. Then I found my cell phone under her pillow. It took me 15 minutes to figure out that she had turned on the speaker phone and how to turn off the speakerphone.)

So we went to open gym at Coach Paul's gym to change the dynamic (Jupiter LOVES Coach Paul.) We left late, and when we got there, I told her to take off her sweatpants so she could show off the leopard print leggings she was so proud of it. Then I noticed the big wet spot in the back. "It's okay, Mama. I just spilled water in the car." Hmm. So we go to the bathroom so she can change into her sweatpants, which are also wet on the outside but fortunately doesn't show when you turn the sweatpants inside out. When we get to the bathroom I start to remove the leopard leggings and.....no underwear!!! "Why aren't you wearing underwear?" I ask. "I forgot," she answers. I struggle to find underwear she is comfortable in, she's always complaining of wedgies and adjusting her undewear, so it's more likely she just didn't want to wear the underwear. And we left quickly and I forgot to check. Note to self. Check for underwear. On the way home, as I was getting into the correct lane to stop at the grocery store to buy a cake mix, she told me that when she got home, she was going to wash her hands and change into her pj's. "Did you pee in your car seat???" I ask. "I couldn't hold it," she answers. She could hold it from Waltham Mass to Portland two weeks ago, and this time she didn't even MENTION that she might need to pee. So instead of the grocery store, we go home and she has a shower.

We're gearing up for the Christmas behaviorials...I can tell. So far I've been able to see the humor in this weeks behavior...I think I'll write a book and when she has children I'll share it with her. My parents tell me that she acts the same way I did. Okay, so I locked the doors to my fathers truck while we were at the car wash, wouldn't let him back in, and proceeded to dismantle the rearview mirror. And I took apart the clock and my mother had to go buy a new one. And I took apart the air conditioner at a hotel once. And, well, you get the idea.

By the way, when my mother was cleaning for Thanksgiving, she found candy wrappers behind her tv.