Wednesday, September 17, 2008

You break it, you buy it.

Getting Jaysen ready for school is torture. For me.

I have to get him dressed while he's still asleep -this is HELL since he now sleeps on his top bunk- because the first 2 attempts at waking him didn't work. We are making progress from the days I would put him to bed in the clothes he was to wear the next day. Did I just admit that?!? Never mind. Eventually he'll wander out to the table for breakfast.

Everyday it's the same-
Jaysen: "Do I have school today?"
Me: "Yes."
Jaysen: "NOOOO! I not going to school! I hate school!"
Me: "Um, well today is (insert day here), check the calendar yourself."

Our calendar is color coded with different dots. Green dots mean days you GO to school, Red dots for no school, yellow dots for something that could be potentially hazardous or joyous depending on the day, like half-days.

On days that Jaysen thinks he actually has a chance the discussion will go something like this:

Me: "C'mon Jaysen, time to start getting ready."
Jaysen: "What am I get ready for?"
Ah-ha. Your mom may be losing her marbles at times, but I'm still too sharp to fall for this little trap my dear.
I pretend to ignore.
Jaysen: "I said what am I get ready?"
Me: "Oh. To eat breakfast."
He's not falling for my tricks either.
Jaysen: "Then what?"
Me: "Then brush teeth."
Jaysen: "Then what?"
Me: "Then...we'll see." Nice ambiguous answer.
Jaysen: "Where am I go today?"
Drat. Backed into a corner again. Turn it around quickly!
Me: "You tell me where you're going today?"
Jaysen: "You say it."
Me: "No, you say it."
Jaysen: "You say it!"
Me: "No, because you're going to yell at me. Why don't you check the calendar?"
Walks over to calendar...
Jaysen: "Aaaarrrrrgggghhh! School!!!!! I not go to school! I hate school!"

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Luckily he has given up on trying to pull off ye ol' switcheroo, where he would pull off the green stickers and replace them with red ones. He's also been known to color in the dots black, in an attempt to confuse me. Smart ass.

Today, he got up early. I was excited for this because on the rare occasions this does happen, he is usually cooperative when it comes to getting dressed etc... which he was today. He got dressed, ate his breakfast, and asked to go outside to ride his bike. Umm... go for it. And if the bus happens to come while you're out there? Hop on it.

After my mom came to take over Rylan-duty, I went outside with Jaysen to watch him ride and wait for the bus. When the bus came, he walked out to it, went through our parting ritual, and then he stopped and kinda stooped over a bit.

Erp?

"Ooooh (moaning)... I forgot I broke my leg. I have to stay home..."

Um... you forgot you broke your leg?
Nice try, Superfly.


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11 comments:

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Hey, you gotta give him points for creativity, right? May you have many many more days of easy mornings to come...

mama edge said...

Darling,
My Taz is 12 years old. He weighs 125 pounds. And I am still dressing him in the morning on school days because he won't wake up. I think dressing him in tomorrow's clothes the day before is a brilliant alternative!

Julie L. said...

I've had calendar battles with my guy too. I'd put an s for school, he'd change it to an h for home. We do have smart ones don't we? It's not as hard to get my son to school as it used to be. Hope the morning battles get easier.

Anonymous said...

I remember having to dress Nigel while he was still asleep. In the dark. Because the sped bus came so freaking early. Gah! These lives we lead . . . wish I had thought of putting his clothes on the night before!

Anonymous said...

How did you break your leg?????

I swear your kiddo and mine sound exactly the same when it comes to getting ready for school. She would also hide under the couch cushions and I would have to drag her to the door for the bus. It was hell. I am so praying that the Autism Center does not go the same way. I can't take her here all the time anymore. We both really need this!

I wish I had advice for how to make the mornings earlier. I tried everything. Nothing ever worked. Sigh! Scream!

Mary P Jones (MPJ) said...

Ha! That's awesome!

Anonymous said...

love it! love him! er, i mean, blasted kid! how dare he try to trick you!! shame on him! kick him to the curb!

Ashley's Mom said...

Kids - they sure could be annoying if they weren't so darn cute!

Maddy said...

Us too! I particularly dislike the messing with the stickers/charts/ PECS! It muddles me all up until I don't know if I'm coming or going or stopped.
Cheers
p.s. when you have a free mo pop over and pick up your award [on my sandwiched genes site]

Bonnie said...

Oh my, sounds all too familiar!

I find the smallest of details is the best route too! Baby steps.


Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to checking your place out more!

kristi said...

TC's thing is always, "I'm too sick to go to school." It is a daily ritual.