Too Much TV with Mom

There isn't much to watch on TV during the summer so I spend a lot of time watching Psychic Detective on Court TV. Well, as I was watching a string of the episodes on Sunday, Ollie decided to watch with me. He got very interested in the cops and bad guys and how the bad guys were caught. He would catch just enough to spin his own story. It was nothing like what really happened, of course, but it kept his imagination in full swing. Now he enjoys playing cops and robbers and putting the bad guys in jail! Look what I started--yes, yes, I won't be letting him watch those shows with me anymore.

Grandma and Grandpa comin'

In a week and a half, Grandma Marie and Grandpa Steve are coming for a visit. Ollie hasn't said much about it yet, but as the date approaches, I am sure he will get excited. He likes the loot that Grandma brings and all of the attention they shower on him. No doubt he will have tons of stories to tell them, including the long-winded one about the bad guys (he paid far too much attention to the court TV shows I was watching).

Playtime

Last night Huts and I went to a Bible study group. Ollie and Tori came along and played in the toy room with a young sitter. Ollie had a ball with her. He liked being a cop and locking her up in the barn-like jail. (Barn was kid size.) We are hoping to get the phone number of that young girl so we can have a date night from time to time.

So Angry

Ollie brings toys to the babysitters almost everyday. He brings enough for everyone to play with and they all seem to have fun with them. This morning Ollie brought a bag of swords to play with, nothing he hasn't done before. He came in and dumped them on the ground as usual and one of the other kids said he couldn't be cause he wanted to play baseball. Ollie picked up a few of the swords and threw them on the couch. Then he got this angry look on his face and started squeezing the plastic bag.

I noticed him in this frozen angry state and went over and asked what was wrong.

"I'm so angry with this!", he said as his lip started to quiver.

I picked him up and help him and told him it was ok, the tears started to flow. He was so upset about it and he didn't know how to express it. Instead of choking the kid who made the comment, he choked the plastic bag to death.

Unfortunately, I think he gets this reaction from me, though I haven't choked any bags, I've flown off the handle at silly remarks before. At least he found a way to cope with his anger today instead of lashing out at someone.

He settled down and got his swords on the floor because the sitter wouldn't let them play baseball while the baby was on the floor. He sat with the sitter for a few minutes and then was ready to play.

Good Taste

Ollie went to the hardware store last night to choose new handles for his red dresser. He wanted red ones, but there weren't any, so he chose not the stars, basketballs or other kids' knows, but cool copper colored knobs with black swirls. Of course, they weren't the cheap kind, but because he only needed a few of them, he got them. Now he wants to know where the rest are for the top drawer which has four holes for smaller knobs. Well, we couldn't exactly find any of those that would fit last night…so until the next time!

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was Huts' birthday and Ollie has been telling me for weeks that we should get Dad a new computer. Dad got a new laptop this spring, and because I use it too, Ollie thinks it is mine. Little does he know, and now it seems he wants to buy Dad a new computer every year for his birthday! If only his piggybank could afford that!

OK

Mom gave me an old dresser which I painted red yesterday for Ollie. He has been begging for a red room for months now. He didn't want a new dresser, however, so I had to sneak it up to his room. He caught me when I got it into the room and started arguing that he didn't want it. I told him that we would just try it, and after putting his stuff on top of it, he decided he would keep it. It was fun to watch Mom put everything into the drawers while telling me all about the new white Power Ranger. This afternoon, we're off to the hardware store so Ollie can pick out new knobs for his new red dresser.

All Gone

Ollie had a good time with Grandma last week and with helping Annie move out of her apartment, but by Sunday morning, he was tired of everyone and ready for them to go home. He told Grandma that he wanted her to go home and then he told me that he wanted everyone else to go home. My mom laughed and said she was ready to go home, too. Four-year-olds can be so brutally honest!

Good For Grandma, Bad for Mom and Dad

That's the best way to describe the kids. They have been wonderful for Grandma Vickie and rotten the moment we walk into the door to pick them up. Tori threw a major fit yesterday when her dad left to pick up something from our house. She cried and cried until Grandma laid down in the floor with her and pretended to cry. Ollie stays nice until he gets home. Then he throws fits and gets nasty because this or that doesn't suit him. Lucky us. Thankfully, they settled down last night and watched the Good NIght Show for an hour while eating pizza, their second dinner of the night.

Job Approved

For several days, we have been painting our living room. It is textured, so it took four cans of paint and several hours to complete. Ollie has been checking our progress daily, asking me when I was going to finish and if I had enough paint. With Tori napping and Ollie visiting Annie on Saturday, we finally finished. Ollie came in, looked around and gave me his seal of approval.

Grandma Is Here!

Simpson Ollie

Ollie was totally excited to see his grandma Vickie. He spent most of Saturday with her and Aunt Annie. Grandma came over to his house on Sunday and he filled her with stories. This morning, he got up and started filing bags with toys that Grandma would like. He loves his Grandma! When he got to Annie's apartment, he flew out of the car and up the stairs. He settled in with Grandma and was happy as a clam.

A Scientist One day?

A few nights ago I watched a documentary on dwarfism. Ollie watched it with me and was fascinated with the skeletal comparisons between average-size adults and little people. He said, "Look, Mom, look. That's a skeleton." Next up was a cross-section of the brain. "Look, Mom, look, that's a brain, We all have brains, Mom, and they are in the skulls. Our skulls are part of our skeletons."

After a discussion in simple terms of brains and aneurysms, which primordial dwarves are susceptible to, Ollie decided our conversation was done. He went back to being age 4 and talking about Power Rangers and dinosaurs. The show ended, a new documentary started on the tallest people in the world and the Q&A session started over.

Smart boy!