The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The past 7 days have been a whirlwind. Last Sunday I left for DC for a quick 60-hour business trip. I hate to say it, but after dealing with Naughty Boy all week, it was almost a relief to go. My meeting was all about the State vs. Federal role in climate change legislation and regulations, and it was very inspiring. It was a small group of people, and both Bill Richardson and John Kerry came and talked to us. After they were done I was ready to go out and change the world! I only had 90 minutes of free time the whole trip, but I took the Metro to the Mall and saw the WWII Memorial and hoofed it back to the hotel.

Todd and Sandy took Ryan to Humboldt for a visit while I was gone, and Ryan got a fever there so I came back to a sick little boy. Of course, he was a total angel the entire time I was gone. Todd stayed home with him on Wednesday, and I stayed home with him on Thursday. Friday he went back to school and I worked until 2 pm. At 2 my mom and aunt came and picked me up and we went to lunch at King and I and shopping at Barnes and Noble. That was THE GOOD.

I picked up Ryan and he was out of sorts. Friday night was one temper tantrum after another. I even had to send him to his room for a while. That was THE BAD.

Saturday was THE UGLY. We took him to see the Easter Bunny at the mall and ride the train. The Easter Bunny sits in a pink house that has a door on the side. Ryan wanted in that pink door more than anything in the whole world. We were waiting in line and he pryed the gate apart and ran into the house. I had to go in and get him. He started screaming and kicking and laid down on the floor of the house. I got him out, but he was still screaming and he threw his chapsticks (he carries them around) across the mall. We chewed him out and carried him to the door. He did not want to put a coat on and laid again on the floor screaming. I swatted his little butt and sat him next to the wall to calm down. He sat there for a few minutes until he was calm and then lost it again when we left. My mom threatened to throw his chapstick away and told him to behave. He stopped. Defeated, we returned to the house. I took Aunt Jan over to her friends' house and did a few errands while mom sat with Ryan. He fell asleep by the back door waiting for me. We watched Ratatouille and he was pretty good, but every little thing would send him into a horrible tantrum. It was ugly and we were all frustrated.

Today was THE GOOD. Ryan woke up in a good mood, so we said some prayers and headed out to breakfast. He behaved, so we went to McDonalds to play and had a good time. Then I took him to play outside. We went for a walk, he drove his car down the sidewalk, saw the neighbor's bunnies, visited Anne and Gary, and had a good time. We came in, watched Scooby Doo, and he went down for his nap. He must have just been having a bad day yesterday.

We did have one bad incident - he and I were crossing the street today, we walked on top of a pile of snow, not knowing that the storm sewer was underneath. The snow broke loose, and my foot went down into the sewer and Ryan and I fell to our knees in the street. He was uninjured, but I am missing a huge chunk of skin on the back of my ankle. Ouch!