Day 227

Ohhhh dear. What happened yesterday? Ahh yes, yesterday was the unleashing of Nathaniel's tantrums. The first part of the day however, and the last part were great...so I'll begin with the good, throw in some bad, and end on a happy note. Ready?

The morning began with breakfast as usual, and a game of Ludo. Ahhh the relaxation of having done homework the night before. A nice walk to school, chilly, but nice - mood wise. I dropped the boys, and came back to the house. When I got back, the female duck was out and letting me take pictures of her. She was quacking a bit, I think looking for her man - I think the two of them are starting a family near the pond - but it made for some really nice pictures. Eventually, once the garbage people disrupted what I was doing, I came in the house.

I had to make a phone call at 10, so I was on the computer for about half an hour, and as soon as the it was time, I got that over with. I then had an hour and a half to do some vacuuming. I hopped to it. In went the Michael Jackson CD, and out came the hoover. I was having a great time. I finished that, and did some laundry and cleaning up as well. Tina had sent me a text saying she'd come pick me up around 12, so close to the time, I went outside to take some pictures. When I got out the door though, the handymen were there. I let them in the house, and the boss - I guess - stood around talking to me until Tina arrived.

The two of us drove into Colchester, sat down for a coffee, where the 2 of us, at separate times, almost broke into tears...and then went shopping as we continued a good day of conversation. It was getting late, so decided we'd better walk back to the car, and go get the children from school.

When we arrived, it was about 3:15. Tina had just received a call saying Sam didn't have the right shoes for Football, so I told her I'd collect Zoe, and we'd meet up with her on our way out, so that she could run back to the house to get the right pair. Well, Zach came out and gave me a hug, along with his things. Then Zoe came out and gave me a hug. Next...was Nathaniel. This, was when it all began.

He came out in just his t-shirt. You see, he had gone into school as a scarecrow, but he came out as what would soon be a very cold little boy. I asked him to put his coat on, he screamed no, and broke into a tantrum. It was SO embarrassing. I could not believe the way he was acting. I think I handled it quite well. I was firm with him, and made him put it on, but was still shocked at his reaction. He then continued to throw a hissy fit about being late for Colchester United (His football training), because I hadn't brought the car. I told him that for 7 months we have done the same routine, and every Friday for 7 months, I have walked up to get him, we'd walk back, he'd eat, and he'd be on his way. He wouldn't have it. He tried to tell me I was wrong, and that his Dad picked him up, and his Dad made him dinner. Was he having some kind of a mental break down? I had no idea what he was on about. He kept saying really silly things, and was making me angry. As we began to walk out of the playground, I'm sure he was making Zoe feel uncomfortable. I told him I wasn't speaking to him for the moment, and we would have the discussion once we'd dropped Zoe off. He didn't like that. He went over to the grass on his own, and sat down. We waited for Tina to show up, and as we waited, my hands full with other people's things, Zoe asked for her bag back. I gave it to her, but still did not have a finger to spare when Zach asked me to hold something else of his. He then turned to her and said..."If you want Maija to carry you home, she can't". The next words I heard, were epic. She spun around to face him, after looking at how full my arms were, and in a tone filled with disbelief, said "CARRY YOURSELF!" THANK YOU ZOE! I said. I could hardly stop laughing. It was too cute. I saw Nathaniel out the corner of my eye, as he stood up, and spat on the ground as his friend was walking by. I gave him a look, told him not to, and he began sulking again. When Tina arrived, and had dropped the shoes off, she asked if we wanted a ride to the house. I originally said no, but with the thought of Nathaniel complaining the whole way back...I decided we would accept her offer. He had upset me so much, I just didn't want to deal with it. On our way to the car, he mentioned something about not wanting me around. I told him that was fine, I'd leave, and he could cook his own dinner.

When we got to the house, Tina let us out, and we went in. After Nathaniel had changed into his football kit, I called him into the kitchen, where I was making dinner, and told him I wanted him to listen, and didn't want to hear him say anything. I then explained about how crazy it was that he through a tantrum, how embarrassed I was, and how it made me feel. I told him I don't make them do things to upset them, I always have a reason, and it's because I care. He didn't seem to give a rats @##. After a while I got sick of his attitude. He asked if he could go watch TV, and I'm not sure why, but I said fine.

In he went, and as he was turning it on, I said "A truthful sorry would be nice". He thought I said something about the TV and began talking about that. I corrected what he thought he'd heard, but still didn't get a sincere apology. I put his dinner on the table, and that's when the next tantrum, yes, tantrum number 3 came along. He whined and whined about dinner, and was driving me insane. I had been in the kitchen, and things were stirring around in my brain. I decided I had to say something. I came out and said "You know you really upset me". All he did was make a noise. A noise like he couldn't be less bothered. ARGH!

He wasn't eating properly when the doorbell rang, and said he'd get up to get it. I made him sit down, and went to answer it. It was my Uncle. He came in, and could not believe how ridiculous Nathaniel was being about dinner, and he made him eat some more. There was so much fuss, that when my uncle's phone rang, and it was my Aunt, he made Nathaniel speak to her on the phone. He still never finished his meal, and to make matters worse, because he was being so annoying, he was making Zach and I late for Josh. It's not fair to Josh at all! When we finally got him out the door, after my Uncle searching for the shin pads and soccer boots (even though when I asked Nathaniel if he had everything together he'd said yes), they realized he'd forgotten his water bottle. I opened the door again, and my Uncle picked it up. Then, I was locking up, and he decided he needed a coat. ARGH! I unlocked the door, and in he ran to get it. This time he was apologizing, but it was way too late for that.

Finally Zach and I got into the car, and raced up to the school. When we got there, it started POURING down, so the two of us jumped out, and ran as fast as we could, in to find Josh. I'm sure we were one of the last ones there. I explained what happened, and apologized to him. He acted like he didn't mind, but I know he did. Poor guy. When we got back to the house, I made the two of them dinner, and they sat down and ate while I cleaned up a bit. I did some more laundry, and just as they were finishing up, Heloise and Tim got back.

The boys and I sat down to watch "Little Rascals" on my computer, as they'd never seen it, and Heloise began to cook as she was having people over. Josh had to go to Cubs, and Nathaniel was home as the movie was ending. He kept asking me to rewind it cuz he didn't see the beginning, but I ignored him. Then he was asking questions, but I refused to answer him. You could tell it was frustrating him. I had asked Heloise if she needed help in the kitchen, but she didn't. She told the boys it was time for bed, and when she mentioned a book, I asked if she wanted me to read to them. She asked if they wanted me or Tim to, and to my surprise, they said me. Up I went, still not talking to Nathaniel, and I sat by the bottom bunk - Zach's bed - to read. After a couple chapters, I told them I had to stop. Zach asked for water, then asked if I'd lie with him after getting it. I said yes, but when I got downstairs, there were about 6 women in the kitchen, who all started asking me questions about Canada, and life. I told them I'd be back, and I ran the water up. Zach didn't say anything else about me lying with him, so I gave him and Nathaniel the water, said good night, and went back downstairs.

When I got back downstairs, the ladies had just moved into the living room. The room I had yet to sit in. There were appetizers set out, so we sat down to eat and talk. Not long after, Nathaniel came to the door and said "Zach's screaming for you". "ME?" I asked in astonishment. "Yes" he said. So feeling quite happy that was said in front of all those ladies, I got up, and went upstairs, bruchetta and plate in hand. When I got there, Zach said "You told me you'd sit in here". I explained what had happened, but he still wanted me in there. He didn't mind that I hadn't had dinner yet haha. I sat down beside his bed, and after a while, heard Heloise tell Tim to come take over. I looked up, and thought Zach was asleep. His back was to me, and his breathing had gotten heavier. I was debating standing up when Tim came in. He said "Just leave him". So I got up to walk away, and that's when he shut the light off. Just then, Zach turned over, quicker than I'd ever seen him move. Tim yelled at him to go to sleep, and a little upset, I left the room and went back downstairs. The ladies asked if everything was sorted, and I said yes.

Some of them went out into the kitchen, and then Tina, 2 others, and I remained in the living room chatting until dinner was ready. At around 9:30 we all sat down in the dining room and ate entirely too much. It was about 11:30, when I was finally able to excuse myself. I knew how quickly morning would come, and although I was looking forward to the day...I was not looking forward to getting up early. Up I came, and although I laid here awake for a bit, I was sooo tired, and eventually nodded off. xx