Spring Break used to mean a time to get away from everything. As a former teacher, I needed this week off to unwind from the stresses of a long tennis season, always being behind, and dealing with students. I’d travel during this week. My favorite travel was anywhere all-inclusive with a beach, although I also enjoy exploring new places. Last year, before my youngest was born, we visited my wife’s family in Peru.

Spring Break is different now. I spent the entire week with both kids, one an independent threeanger and an infant. Who both decided to change their typical lovely dispositions.

Zoo Day and Passports

I had wanted to take the boys to the zoo for a while, but I didn’t want to attempt it by myself nor to try to do it all between the baby’s naps. He struggles to fall asleep all the time unless the conditions are perfect, and even then, no matter how much he yawns or rubs his eyes, he has to cry/scream before I can put him down to sleep.

But Mama got called to do an ultrasound at the zoo on that first Friday of Spring Break, so we planned to make the most of it. We planned how to get down there and what to pack for lunches. But it still felt like a lot to do, and the weather didn’t look promising.

So, we woke up the following day and debated if it made sense. Finally, we just decided to go. The boys and I needed adventure; the rain might hold off a little. Mama headed off in her work car while I tried to get the boys fed and everything packed.

The Toddler decided to take everything as slowly as possible, even though he wanted to go. Breakfast took what felt like hours, and forget getting him to go to the bathroom. Eventually, I packed everything, and we drove the forty minutes to the Houston Zoo.

As soon I got the boys through the entrance, it poured. We found shelter as fast as possible by entering the reptile house. Unfortunately, three schools had brought nine busloads of kids to the zoo that day, and there aren’t many places to go when it rains. The lizards and snakes had a lot of company for the moment.

Mama finished up her work and joined us. Luckily, the rain let up, and we explored. Meanwhile, the baby fought off sleep as if he were a gladiator. He didn’t get too cranky, so we continued for the sake of the older one.

After seeing a few of our favorite animals, like the lions and the gorillas, we stopped for a picnic lunch. Mama tried to nurse the baby and hopefully get him to sleep while I dealt with the threenager who didn’t want to eat much of anything I packed.

When we were midway through lunch, I got an alert I had set for our appointment to get our baby a passport. We had completely forgotten. We looked at each other and laughed at how poorly we had planned this entire thing.

We raced to our separate cars through the rain and headed back forty-five minutes to try to make the passport appointment. As luck would have it, we also needed to bring paperwork and a birth certificate, which were at home. So, I took the boys to the post office while Mama went home to grab them.

After checking in, I got called almost immediately, even though two other people were before me. I explained that my wife was bringing the paperwork and asked if the others could before me.

My wife showed up about fifteen minutes later, but the mail worker took over an hour to deal with the person who went before me.

When we were called, she started our paperwork but stopped halfway through because the mail line had gotten too long. She told us one of her co-workers would be with us in a few minutes. So, we waited fifteen minutes for someone to help us, and then we were done in minutes.

It was a very frustrating start to our vacation, but at least it was different than normal.

Little Wooden Houses, Pajamas, and Threeanger Rage

Once we got home, we all relaxed for a little while. The Baby finally took a nap while the toddler watched his tablet. Mama and I both sat on the couch and almost fell asleep. After a while, though, I needed to start moving.

I thought starting a new project for the kids would be a good idea. My wife found a good deal on a wooden playhouse for the boys, and I wanted to put it together. Little did I know it would take three days to put together.

I started to get all the parts out and figure out what to do. My oldest loved to “help,” by help, I mean that he wanted to play with all the parts and move things around.

That first day, I attached all the walls and started the next part. I decided to put it up for the day.

We woke up and did our family breakfast. Then I mowed the yard (check out my stories on Instagram as I try to transform my terrible yard). Once I finished the yard work, I turned my attention back to the project.

As I got to work, The Toddler came out in his pajamas. I figured he hadn’t gotten dressed and told him he needed clothes to come outside. He grunted and said, “No. I just want my pajamas.” I tried to hold my ground and tell him he needed clothes on, but he refused and had a meltdown.

I backed off and let him stay in his pajamas. I didn’t realize then that he had started a new phase where he only wanted to wear pajamas. He also decided to change his pajamas a few times during the day; not only did the first pair get dirty, but three other sets did as well.

Things came to a head when he started having accidents in his pajamas. He seems to go through phases with his potty training. He’ll go days where he makes it to the potty on time, and then he goes even more days where he doesn’t. As he soiled his pajamas, I’d put them away to be washed later. But then he would want a dirty pair of pajamas to wear.

The screaming that ensued began to drive me crazy. He couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t let him wear dirty pajamas; he only knew he wanted them. I spent many minutes supporting and letting him calm down with me, only for him to start back up again as he remembered he couldn’t wear a specific pair of pajamas.

As hard as those moments became, I’m hoping they help him learn that he can’t have everything he wants whenever he wants. I don’t like him getting so upset about anything, but I know he needs to know the difference between want and need. It is a hard idea for a three-year-old to grasp. After a week of this, he still doesn’t understand, but I hope to help him get there soon.

Octonauts and Tablet Addiction

Another aspect of immediate gratification we are dealing with comes from his tablet, which I feel is fueling most of his problems this week.

He has latched on to a new show, The Octonauts. All he wanted to do this week was to wear his pajamas and watch Octonauts. We had issues with him using his tablet a few months ago, and things came to a boil one day before school. He struggled to let go of his tablet despite needing to use the bathroom and leave for school. He had a massive meltdown that lasted until school. When I picked him up, the first thing he said to me was that he was sorry. Since that moment, any time I asked him to get off his tablet, he would do so without question or complaint.

But this week, the struggle came back. He couldn’t get away from his show without putting up a fight. Once he calmed down, we would have a good time, but the screaming wore on me. I let him stay on his iPad longer than usual a couple of times because I didn’t want to deal with the emotional toll it would take on both of us.

As the week ended, getting him off the tablet started getting easier. However, on the last day of break, he struggled with me leaving the room to put his brother down for a nap. I offered his tablet and let him watch cartoons while I did things. When he reached enough time on his tablet and tried to get him off, he started to scream and cry.

I went to him and whispered how I was scared that the tablet controlled his life. I told him that he and I had a little time to play together without his brother, and I wanted to spend that time with him. I told him that he needed to be able to put the tablet away when it was time as a life skill and that I didn’t want the tablet to be the only thing he ever did in life.

He seemed to understand. He turned his tablet off and came to play with me. We had a great time, and he even played independently with some magnet tiles, which he pretended to be the ships from his new favorite show.

I might have lost a battle or two, but I know the war isn’t over. We still need to work on his need for his tablet and his desire for immediate gratification. I fear the more I keep the thing away from him, the more he will act out to get it, so I’m trying to walk a delicate line.

A Good Spring Break at Home

To end the week, I did lots of yard work. I continued my series on revitalizing my yard on Instagram, which included a fresh mow, installing some sod plugs, and spraying some root growth stimulants to help the grassroots take hold. Then, my wife and I spent two days weeding and mulching our flowerbeds.

We had hoped that my oldest would join us outside while we worked, but he only wanted to watch Octonauts, which worked for us at the time. He did come out with us once and proceeded to get his pajamas covered in dirt, mulch, and mud. Still, moments I’ll look back on fondly, I’m sure.

It was a tough week, but one I’ll remember forever. It seems that the more things go wrong, the more you remember them, so I’ll never forget that trip to the zoo. I’m sure my son wearing pajamas all day, every day, will long be talked about around the family.

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