Just having Fun

Gabe and Fred

Keep right on a Rollin'

I am going to have to check out the ingredients for another fast food restaurant. Earlier this week the guys stopped to get something to eat. They believed that they carefully ordered for Gabe. Yet later that day Gabe was very silly and argumentative. It was almost impossible for anyone in the house to have a conversation without Gabe showing up to argue about whatever was being said. His arguments were totally ridiculous. He would say things like, "Hey Mom, don't call Fred..." and then he would use a word or two that he just heard us saying. These words would be totally random words from our conversation. He would also but in saying things like, "No it's not" or "leave her alone, she doesn't want to do that" or some other crazy comment that had nothing to do with the current conversation.
It was impossible to say things like, "please add that to the grocery list. I'm going to stop at the store tomorrow." This comment was made to Angel, but Gabe butted in saying, "just leave her alone Susan, she's not hurting you."
After a good nights sleep the arguing stopped but Gabe reverted to old patterns of just repeating movie lines over and over.  While this has never totally gone away, there is usually significantly less than we've had the past few days. Gabe has been stuck in repeat mode for a few days now.
To top it off, Gabe has heard Fred's alarm going off twice this week. It plays the theme from Rawhide over and over until it is shut off. The first time Fred had gotten up a few minutes before it went off. His bedroom is just off of the kitchen where Gabe was eating breakfast. Fred had run outside to quickly move his car out of my way so Gabe and I could leave for school in a few minutes. The theme kept playing on some electronic device that I am not going to touch.  "Shut that off!" Gabe demanded.
"It's not that loud. Just eat and we will leave." I said.
"But it's hurting my ears!" he said. Since he wasn't making a motion to cover his ears as he sometimes does I decided that he was just complaining so he would have something to say. I think that more than half of his complaining is just to have something to say. His body language shows when something is really bad. Yes the repeating song was a bit annoying - just live with it. It's only a few minutes. Learn to cope.
A few mornings later Fred was in bed. He had left his bag in the kitchen, under Gabe's chair of all places. Soon the alarm began to play. I knocked on Fred's door to let him know it was going off. Within a minute he came out to get it.
"Turn that thing off!" Gabe demanded. "It just keeps repeating."
"You're a fine one to complain about things repeating," Fred answered as he turned off the alarm.

Don't touch the monkeys

It is time for family worship. Gave has showered and is wearing green fleece PJ's with monkeys all over them. Angel has decided that she will read from the Bible tonight. She sets Maree on the couch beside Gabe. Maree's latest goals have been trying to move her body from position A to position B. She is making progress. As she sits on the couch a little more than her arm's length from Gabe he is watching her intently. As she reaches for one of the monkeys on his shirt she falls toward him. It is really just a little slide on the couch. "Get her off! She grabbing me," Gabe says with urgency in his voice.
"She's just touching you a little," Angel says as she lifts Maree off of Gabe and sets her back up. Angel resumes reading but soon Maree is reaching for Gabe's PJ's.
"She's touching me!," Gabe says again.
"You will be Okay," I say to him.
"Angel, Maree is touching me, she's gonna get my arm. She just hit me. Just get her now," Gabe sounds a bit more pushy.
"She didn't hit you," Angel says to Gabe. "Those were just love pats. They are really soft.."
Gabe still has trouble telling the difference between little pats, taps, bumps and big bad hits. He tattles on it all.