"Toby took my money."

Yesterday Hazel happened to mention, "Toby took my money." I asked her about it and she said he put it in his money bag. This obviously wasn't this week, since she had her pickle outing, but I do remember last week wondering where her money had gone to. I asked her how she might prevent this from happening. She didn't have much to offer, so then I asked if she would like me to help her figure out how to put her money in a safe place. She found a little zipper change purse and declared that her new money bag.

Today she said, with Toby present, "I put my money in my purple money bag so Toby no take it." I asked him if he had taken her money, and he said, "well, it was just lying on the floor." We all talked about how if there is money lying around, anyone might pick it up. I suggested Hazel watch what Toby does as soon as he gets his money, which is to immediately put it in his bag. I asked her what she's going to do with her allowance tomorrow, and she parroted, "Put it in a safe place." Where? "In my purple money bag." So she is starting to learn about this - the best part was Toby's honesty.

At breakfast today, Toby kept asking me to get or do things for him. He wanted me to cut the edge off his waffle (he hates the crusty bit). When I said he could do this himself, he grumbled until I asked if he remembered the conversation we had about him learning how to do things as well as he would like to. I said, "Come on, I'll help you, I'll teach you." I showed him a tiny bit of how I do it and encouraged him to cut the rest, which he did just fine. He was less resistant than I expected. I have been trying to acknowledge capabilities he demonstrates when he's internally motivated - for example, when he's getting himself dessert, he has no difficulty bringing a step stool over and unlocking the cabinet. I mentioned how quick and easy that seemed to be for him, then said I expected him to always be able to do that for himself.

After spending a frustrating hour last night getting the kids to bed, I ranted to Dan that I wanted to implement something new - they have to be in bed, lights out, teeth brushed, by 8:30 to get 15 minutes of snuggle time and then I'm outta there, door shut! But of course that's such a radical departure from how things go now, it would inevitably lead to lots of crying and screaming and door-slamming. Dan suggested I put it on the Problem List - tongue in cheek? But it actually sounded like a decent idea - present the problem to the kids and see what they come up with. I know parents aren't supposed to put problems on the list, but it seemed like a better idea than mine. Tomorrow is our meeting, send good vibes! My solution suggestion is going to be sleeping pills for both children, every night.