Day 2 as a 5-year-old verdict: Not a total loss.

From the get-go today had a vibe about it. Not a bad one, but a change. Nixon woke up and was kind of awesome, maybe in part to the blanket fort I set up for him last night before I went to bed.

When it was time for breakfast, he started pouting/talking back and refused to go to his room when I told him too. The end result? No TV before nap time. We did play games, action figures and made his teacher a card for tomorrow.
   Nixon did help me make scrambled eggs this morning. He helped me crack all the eggs and even broke 2 of his own (1 totally on his own!!) with very few pieces of shell falling into the bowl. They were large enough that I could pick them out before mixing the eggs.

After our nap, yes I took a nap as well...we're all fighting a cold. Nixon asked for a snack and to watch TV. I waited until he asked the correct way AND apologized for this morning. It went like this "Mommy, please can I apologize for not listening and for pouting this morning? AndnowcanIwatchTVplease?!?" He got one hour of shows, then Mac got to choose what we watched, then dinner time and after dinner came bath time to bedtime.

Overall, today was NOT a horrific day. We did spend a little more time talking about good behavior at school, respecting his teachers and also how to be a gracious winner. He is an overly celebratory winner which I'm going to help work on with him.

Nixon and his Ace McCloud from Centurions, taking a break from our good vs evil "battles"

He's 5!!! Happy 5th birthday, Nixon!

I wish I could say today was wonderful from the start. That butterflies came out just to celebrate the day my son entered the world and that at the exact moment of his birth a lark landed on our windowsill and serenaded him.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. Here's what actually did happen:

He woke up and was kind of awesome. He was excited to get ready for school and share his birthday cupcakes. We got to school and he wanted to play with the toys but the class was going outside....I left, letting the teachers do what they do. I made purple cupcakes at home for him, totally ready to celebrate Nixon's birthday.

Instead, I was greeted by a crying child who told me "Mommy, you're heart's going to be sad. I had a bad day at school." when I entered his classroom. And oh boy, he was not lying! My newly 5-year old son was defiant, crass, disrespectful and last but by no means least, exposed himself. All to a teacher. He entered the teacher's office area, was asked to come out, refused, asked to come out again, yelled and refused again, when the teacher went in to the office to bring him out Nixon pulled his pants and undies down...this happened 3 times before they got him to keep his undies on and his pants only dropped to his knees. (This was told to me as if I should be comforted by this "progress").

Nixon and I talked about this in the car. We talked about it when we got home. I finally came up with a punishment by the time Mac woke up and the 3 of us talked about it. Nixon is not phased by spankings, or taking things away, or spending time in his room without toys, but he has been looking forward to getting a pet fish for weeks now. We had planned on doing it for his birthday, taking him to pick out his own fish.  I decided to put that on pause and told him we're going to wait to see how he behaves on Friday in school. The tank is set up, in his room, it's just waiting for a fish. But it's not happening right now.
Just talking to him about what happened he was dismissive, rude (looking away, trying to get away from me while I'm talking to him) and....I just don't know what was going on in his head.

By bedtime he was better. He snuggled with me for a bit, after he managed to fall off the love seat in the living room, and had a blanket bunker he was hiding under watching his psp before Mac left for work. We even went out to get our traditional Taco Bell dinner we've done every year since Nixon's birth.
As I was putting him to bed, I was talking to him telling him how much I loved him and he starts moving his hand mimicking me as I was talking. I stopped talking and just looked at him. He kept doing it, I still said nothing, just looked at him waiting for him to stop. He didn't so I left his room and didn't say goodnight.
I cried silently once earlier today, I'm not going to do it again tonight.....

Uggg....what a damned day.

* You know those hard conversations that sneak up on you out of nowhere? Yeah, me too. This one caught me off guard today.
   This morning started with some coffee-milk (for Nixon), coffee for Mac and I, layers of clothes and a warm blanket for sitting outside waiting for another very awesome signing at Third Eye Comics. Nixon and I got there about an hour before the store opened. Nixon was running around but not being overly rowdy.
   Doors opened, we went in, got our stuff signed and even won 2 drawing from the artist. We were hanging out hoping the line slowed down so we could get the drawings and go home. Nixon spent most of his time playing with the dice, lining them up and what-not. He had become especially fond of this one pink die.
   Nixon had to go to the bathroom. The comic book store doesn't have a restroom, so we take him to the store next to them which does. While in there, Nixon says "Look momma, I have my pink dice in my hand!"
   OH SHIT!

    We went back to the store, found one of the owners and I had Nixon hand her back the dice and apologize for stealing it. We then found a "quiet" area and I explained to him why stealing is wrong. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but to me it's very important to nip this now before he does start doing it on purpose.
   He was sad, because he thought I was being mean and that the store owners wouldn't let him in the store anymore. I dialed it back a bit and told him he did the right thing by returning the die and apologizing. He was much better behaved after that and we left for home around noon.


* In other news, he chose his birthday theme. He wants My Little Pony plates/cups/napkins. He also asked for a Twilight Sparkle mask, but I doubt he'll get it since he hates masks and complain about them when he does wear them.

This is how I found him...curled up in a ball without blankets.