Unfortunately, we are not there right now because I am the meanest mother in the world. You see, a couple weeks ago, I got a phone call from the neighbor behind us. She said, "Did you know Eli is over here at my house?" and I said, "WHAT?"
When we pieced it together, we realized that Eli had figured out how to climb the back wall (easily 7 ft. tall)using our trampoline, and once on top, he jumped down to a little playset of the neighbor's, slid down their slide, and voila! A playdate without the hassle of parental involvement! Needless to say, our neighbor's mom wasn't so happy about him showing up in her house, and Adam and I were totally mortified, and scared for his safety, in that order.
Well, we had a big talk with him. But over the next several days, it happened again, and again, and again!! Now we were really mad, mortified, and scared for his safety (still in the right order)! We started threatenings, taking privileges away, and still nothing worked.
Then, Happy Apple Preschool announced their Field Trip coming up! Haha! Ammo! I was very clear when I explained to Eli that if he hopped over that wall one more time, we would not be going on the field trip to his all-time favorite restaurant.
HOP! Over he went. I'm not that mean, so I gave him 2 more chances.
HOP!
HOP!!
Well, that was it. No Field Trip. That night I told Adam what had happened, and we also decided that a physical barrier was imperative. We moved the trampoline a foot or two further away from the wall.
The next day, Eli wanted to play outside. I made my usual threatenings, Eli made his usual promises. Out he went.
30 seconds later, I hear Eli yelling his head off in the back yard. "MOM!!!"
I sauntered outside. Eli was balancing at a 45 degree angle with his feet wrapped around the trampoline edge and his arms pressed against the back wall. He was completely stuck and helpless. "MOM!! I can't get down!"
"Oh, Eli what are you doing there? I thought you weren't going to climb the wall?"
"I just wanted to see how far away it was! Help me get down!"
"Oh, I'll be there in a second, you just wait while I go get my shoes."
I slowly sauntered into house to get my shoes, and then I moseyed across the backyard and rescued my suspended son, whose arms were trembling at this point.
Shockingly, we haven't had any incidents since then.
But, we're still not going on the Field Trip.
I don't want to take any chances.
4 comments:
You are the best mom in the world! Except I would have moved the trampoline earlier!
Vickie
This is a side of Eli that Ken and I didn't know about. What a dare devil. :) We hope he has learned his lesson. This probably isn't a good time to mention how cute we think Eli is--we remember, of course, the younger Eli when we babysat him a few times in Provo and in CT. What handful he has become. Good luck!!
Yeah, not to brag or anything, but that is JUST what I would have done. Let the punishment fit the crime. You are TOOO funny! I love it!
Oh, man! That is exactly like the stuff Naomi does! All the time! She has to sit in the very front seat on the bus so the bus driver can watch her. We keep telling ourselves her determination will turn into a good thing. By the way, once again, I love checking your blog.
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