Update...

The next morning, E came in at 7 and asked me to cover him up in his bed. I did and then he didn't wake up until 8:30. Very unusual when he doesn't come into our bed, but when he is upset with one of us he can go most of the night without popping in. He woke up in a chipper mood and wasn't upset with me. I was still a little miffed and I was planning on putting my plan in motion. I was very curt with him & didn't talk too much except when he asked me questions. 

We came downstairs & I started doing a few other things (the other 2 were still sleeping) & he started working on his puzzle. He asked me to help & I told him no. I told him he could start by saying he was sorry for last night. I ended up going to sit beside him to chat. I asked if he loved me, he said yes. I asked if he liked it when I did things for him, he said yes. Does daddy do anything different from what mommy does at night, he said no. Then why do you get so upset when mommy sits; just came back with a blank stare. I told him that I loved him & I loved doing things for him & being there for him but it really hurt me when he yells at me or screams like that. I asked if he would try to be nicer when it was my turn to sit with him at night & he said yes. I also got kisses and hugs afterwards. I've sat for them twice since we had that talk & "knock on wood" it's been a lot better (like 180 degrees better). For now, I'll take it when I can get it & hopefully there are more good days than bad days ahead.

Who Knew 3 Year Olds Could Resort GrownUps to Tears...

So Elias has been super attached to his dad lately. Which isn't a bad thing. I remember being attached to my dad since I didn't get to see him all the time. I know he misses his daddy when he goes to work. I love their special bond with each other. Elias knows all the names of the tools & knows what they do. He will sit on his dads lap on Sat/Sun with the flyers & go through the names of the tools with Mike. 

My problem, however, is when he flat out refuses me in situations where he doesn't really get a choice. In those situation he screams & keeps crying until he gets his way but we stand as firm as we can & don't let him have his way. 

Tonight, for example. They all need Vicks on their chest (as we all have colds except daddy & Gaby's is as far gone as bronchitis) to help them breathe. I decided to be the one to rub it on their chest & E flat out refused me. I kept saying, only one of us does it & my hands are already dirty. "No! I want daddy to do it"(repeated about 20 times). Once Mike finished putting on Jacob's diaper, he came over and held E's hands back & I rubbed Vicks on his chest (while he was still asking for daddy). He didn't scream or cry just kept repeating his mantra (while we repeated ours).

Fast forward 5 minutes & we are tucking them in bed. Mike & I take turns sitting with them until they fall asleep. We've been doing this since they've been able to get out of their cribs. It was my turn to sit. I tucked in Gaby & Jacob & let them send a message to auntie via Heytell. Mike was calmly telling E that it was mommy's turn to sit and that he would be tomorrow. And the new mantra started. "I want daddy to sit". After a few minutes I just ignored him & didn't let him send a message to auntie since he wasn't being nice to mommy. He kept crying & screaming his mantra and we stood our ground. I tried to tell him to quiet down so that his brothers could sleep all the while telling him that daddy would be sitting tomorrow. Nope. Wouldn't have it. More crying & mantra. I couldn't take it. I picked him up, and put him in the spare room & told him if he didn't want me, he could just sleep in a different room all together, threw a blanket on him & left. I took my post back in the chair. A couple of minutes later he walks in (of course still crying but not screaming as loud) that he wants daddy. I said if he kept saying that he could just stay in the other room by himself. He climbed into bed and I just had tears. I asked him why didn't he love me? I'm with him all day & do everything for him when he asks. Why doesn't he want me? I'm not that horrible when it's my turn to sit. I don't do anything. I quiet them down & tell them to go to sleep, but it's nothing that daddy doesn't do. I find his toys, etc & play with him. 

Is it wrong of me to want to "show him" what it would be like to have mommy not be friendly? Maybe not play with him. Maybe not find the toy when he asks. Maybe not give him that special chocolate or let him go with me by himself to the store. It may hurt me when I look into his eyes. I love him so much & it kills me when he yells like he does. Will it backfire? Only time will tell...

First sleepover!!

On Sunday, June 8th, Elias kept asking his grandma if he could go to her house. His main focus to go was that he wanted to play with his grandpa's tool box. I told him he had to wait & we'd go later this week. He decided he wanted to spend the night. I was surprised that he was pushing that hard to sleep over. Whenever she asked him to stay before he was so adamant that it was no. We tried to explain that if he went daddy would pick him up the next day and that he couldn't cry at night for us because grandma couldn't bring him back. He said he understood & would even repeat what we said. Finally, after dinner I went upstairs & packed a small bag for him. The group got up to leave & when G & J saw daddy put a car seat inside grandma's van they lost it. Just kept saying Yaso couldn't go without them & that they wanted him. We tried to explain that he was sleeping at grandma's & wouldn't be back until tomorrow & if they left they couldn't cry & couldn't bring them at night. They swore they were okay & wanted to go. So I went back upstairs & packed as much I could think of that they would all need & be comfortable with. They took our van instead (since 3 car seats can't fit in theirs) & away they went. I was just shocked. I didn't know what to do with myself. I hoped they would be good. Wasn't sure how far they'd actually get. Mike guessed they'd get to the end of the subdivision ask to come back.

We just kind of looked at each other in shock. I didn't know what to do. The house was too quiet. Since we'd already had dinner & it was a Sunday night there weren't many "date" things we could do. They called us before bed and J was a little teary eyed saying he wanted to come home but grandma assured him daddy would pick him up the next day & I told him I'd see him tomorrow. I had a little hard time sleeping fully all night but woke up refreshed around 8. Stayed in bed & they called me again around 8:30. They were all in good spirits & all slept the night through!

The next day I found a few errands I've been meaning to do. I talked to them a couple of times & they were in great spirits & had eaten well. They went to the park with grandma & had some snacks. By the time daddy came to get them E & J said they didn't want to leave! They were all a little subdued by the time they came home (Mike said they were trying to take naps on the way).

All in all it was a very successful first time. It's nice that they did it on their own instead of a "have to" situation. Now whenever we "have to" they already know what it's like & it won't be such a big deal.

Proud of you boys!!

Live in nanny cont'd...

On Sunday, May 25 we went to the Harborfront Park in Hamilton for the Cystic Fibrosis walk. This is the 3rd year we have done the walk & every year, my sister, Angelina has come with us. Luckily it was a gorgeous day & the kids had fun. Mike had a visitation he had to go to after we got home. Ang & I took the kids out for a bike ride after lunch. Mike met up with us on roller blades & then we switched "vehicles". Ang & I got on bikes & put the kids in the strollers with Mike still on roller blades. Of course, they persuaded us to take a little detour to the park...

There was a fire engine on site & they let the kids come in & offered them coloring books. 

Had to beat up daddy with our new balloons

Group shot!

J didn't want to take a pic with the ladies...he's going to regret that later!

The ducky game. G & J got nerds & E ended up with a lollipop. It was so big they all ended up getting a lick. 

Monday, Ang had to leave. The boys were super sad & had a hard time dealing with the fact that auntie got out of the van & we had to leave her at the airport. They cried for at least 5 min on the way back to grandma's house. Luckily Ang had an easier time getting home than she did coming in. We've definitely missed having her here but we will see her very soon!

Live in nanny (a.k.a. auntie)...

Victoria Day Monday the boys got an awesome surprise. Their Auntie Angelina came up for a visit on Monday. It was a holiday day for us so Mike stayed at his parents to work & I packed up the boys & headed to the airport.

They had no idea what was coming. I collected them from the park that grandma took them to (once I was sure she was on her way & about to land) & just told them I had to take them with me because we had to get a surprise. They started asking what it was & I just told them it was a surprise & they'd see when we got there. As we got closer to the airport, I noticed that E was taking a catnap & the other 2 were just watching their videos. G noticed the airplanes but he didn't make the connection yet. As we got near the arrival part, E woke up & noticed where we were. I turned on the video camera on my phone, but didn't hold it (just stuck it in a cup holder); figured that way I could at least get their cute conversations on camera. As I went around they kept saying they really wanted auntie to be there & hoped we'd find her. We didn't find her the first time & she sent me a message saying her bag didn't come & she was just putting in a claim. As I made the drive out of arrivals the boys started yelling at me saying, "No mommy, you have to go back! We have to get auntie!" On the second round I saw her & put the windows down. E didn't notice her yet but as soon as she stepped to the van she peeked in & said "Hi boys" & then they couldn't stop talking!

The next morning the first thing on their minds was to wake up auntie. I didn't object & I knew she wouldn't either. The weather was kind of blah & we had to figure out when the bag was coming so we could pick it up. Rima also happened to be in town so we were going to visit her that night as well. Rima was super kind & decided she'd let the boys pick out their own toy at Toys R Us. That was quite interesting. Of course, they found lots of things they "needed" but in the end they did really well & each ended up with 1 toy & not many tears or screams.

Wednesday morning I awoke to a surprise. The boys were quiet & not in their beds. I got to sleep in for a bit & found them all downstairs with auntie. They woke her up this morning first instead of me! She had their workbooks out & were busy tracing & drawing. It was then that I fantasized about how wonderful it would be to have a live-in nanny. 

We decided to try a new learning center on Wed. They had a good time & even made us "pizza" & cupcakes. Later that night, we had to go to an info meeting for their kindergarten class :( I teared up during the whole presentation. The boys were good & stayed with auntie that night (first time!) and they watched a couple of movies and had dinner and popcorn. Mike & I got a look at their classrooms & I took pictures. When I showed it to them (they liked the indoor sandbox & water sink & paints & play dough) they were asking to go to school. 

We went to the library as usual on Thursday & Ang was so excited to see them sing; however, Gaby had other issues & decided to be angry during most of the songs. It was a gorgeous day so we went to the park with our friends & grabbed a pizza. The boys loved the park & the fact that it was close to the lake. Towards the end they were just grabbing rocks & throwing them in.

It was such a nice day we decided to try rollerblading by the "lighthouse". The weather got a little cooler ( :( ) and the boys were more interested in throwing rocks into the lake (since we did that earlier) but we went a little ways and then we succumbed & let them throw rocks into the lake for a bit then headed home. 

You want some?

On Friday it was raining & cloudy so we thought we'd take a little trip to the mall. The boys love elevators & escalators (now...they used to scream when we went in them when they were around 1-2 years old) & felt like doing some window shopping. We stopped for some ice cream & coffee along the way. Mike met us at the mall & kept the boys busy while we did more window shopping. They were so kind that they even carried our bags!

Started with haircuts

Saturday was a day of pampering for my sis. I didn't get to be there for her birthday so I took her out while Mike took our minions to his parents so he could help finish their walkway.

Then the winery & pedicures

Of course we had to get a birthday cake

To be continued...