I've been hoping to do a day with Monet for a week or so now, and today was the day. Bard is with a friend, so I left Edison in charge of housecleaning and cooking.
Monet chose Pizza Hut for lunch. We chose the lunch buffet and Monet reminded me of his birthday, how he chose Pizza Hut for his special birthday lunch, and how he chose "except" as one of the words to spell in our hangman game.
Today, he chose iced tea for his drink. It wasn't sweetened or flavored, so he put ten packets of sugar and three lemon slices in the tea. We had a nice lunch. I enjoyed his company.
After lunch, we headed to Wal*Mart to look for a punching bag, punching toy or boxing gloves. A few days ago, when friends were visiting, he had really lost his temper and gotten into trouble for it, so we listed some things that he could do to help control his temper. The punching bags and boxing gloves were two of the things.
In the store, he helped me gather the groceries I needed. I find that if I give him a list and some responsibilities, he's much more well-behaved. Today, he pushed the cart and did a fine job, better than some of the adults were doing who weren't looking as they pushed their carts out into the main aisle without even looking.
Our Kids' Bathroom Fish died a few days ago, so I told Monet that we had to choose a new fish. He asked if he could pick it out, and then asked if he could get a fish for his own room. I told him he could. We found a Beta tank that has two compartments so that you can keep two male betas without them killing each other. Apparently, it causes them to display their fins more to see another beta. Monet chose a blue and white beta and a red one, even asking the employee for one of the betas in the tank himself. He chose the rocks himself, too. He also chose a notebook to write things in when he's angry, calling it his Mad Book.
After Wal*Mart, we headed to the new local art gallery. It's in a big historic house, so when we parked and walked up the sidewalk towards it, Monet asked where we were going. I told him that I had always liked the house, thought it looked friendly, and figured we'd just go knock on the door and ask them if they had a cup of tea. :-) As we approached the door, he saw paintings in the window and decided it must be an art gallery. He was convinced when he saw the sign that said Art Gallery. :-)
Once inside, we told the attendant that Monet is an artist. She was very encouraging and impressed, and invited Monet to bring in some of his artwork for display and/or sale. I'm hoping to commission him to do a few paintings and then take them in. I think he'd like that. :-)
I have to make this quick, because Baby's not very happy.
After the gallery, we stopped for a drink (Monet paid and counted out the money for the drinks). On our way home, we stopped at the greenhouse, where Monet used the digital camera to take photos of the plants, flowers and miniature gardens. We bought two hanging baskets of everbearing strawberries and a hanging basket of nasturtiums, along with a few herbs, all at half-price. We then drove past the truck patch where they have a bunch of ponies and donkeys, and talked about the difference between ponies, horses, donkeys and mules. Monet asked if donkeys could be ridden and decided that, yes, you can ride a donkey because Mary and Jesus both did. :-) He also said he'd not like to have a donkey, because they're too loud.
We had many conversations, but I can't remember them now. I'll try to remember and write them down later.
When we got home, we repotted the herbs, Monet watered them, and then he spent the afternoon making artwork. Sweetheart made artwork, too, with the stencils I bought for her.
We rounded out the evening with a batch of pizza bagels and a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Baby can't take anymore. More later....
Photos here.
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