Children should be seen and not heard.

Children should be seen and not heard.  Yeah right.  I have never bought into that old school thought, by nature children should be loud and boisterous.  Lord knows mine are and most of the time I really enjoy it.  However there are times when I am banging my head against the wall crying "MAKE IT STOP!"

Such a time happened yesterday with my cutie patootie Evangeline.  The last few months have been a real struggle with her, her anxiety about me leaving her has been very much apparent.  She knows Mommy always comes back for her, and she's fine when I leave but the second I come back all hell breaks loose.  She's punishing me for not being with her because "I need you Mommy."

Yesterday she was fine all day long....until dance class.  They went in and closed the door so that Mommies and Daddies could be surprised by the routine they are working on.  She went in and did the Ballet.  We were invited in to see it and disaster.  She freaked out refused to get up and dance.  Cried for me the entire song.
We went out and changed to her tappy shoes (tap shoes) and she went back in....but refused to do anything.  "She's like this tiger today." Mr. Luis says to me.  My response was "She's trying to out will me and get me to come in and that's not happening."

Next was her hip hop and she changed into her shoes and then refused to go in the room at all!  So I said fine we are done with dance today.  Packed up and left the studio.  She screamed and cried and begged to go back to dance class.  We told her no, of course.  It went on and on the whole way home.

She learned I hope there are consequences to her behavior and that Mommy's will is stronger than her's.  I am determined to not bend to the will of a 3 year old. 

She sat and ate her dinner, was a good girl at Mema's and Aunt Lindsay's house. She put on a dance outfit and danced around for the rest of the night.  And had turned back into the cute, fun kid she normally is.  Even as I write this she is dancing around to The Footloose soundtrack (original, because I'm me, lol)  and being perfectly Evangeline.

In cases like this sometimes I wish that I subscribed to the seen and not heard deal....but then my girls wouldn't be my girls and I really like who they are :)

Move over Terrible Twos

Let's completely ditch the terrible twos...okay well we did that already and now have the Treacherous Threes.

The last 4 months have been rough.  I don't know what the heck has been going on with Evangeline.  Literally I can't do anything with out her.  It's a wonder that she goes to bed at night with out me. 
"Can mommy go back to work?"
"No Mommy you can't leave me!"
"You don't want to go to a nice daycare with other little kids and have fun?"
"Uh un. I stay with you."

The only good news is that if I did go back to work before she went to school full day is that the daycare option would be with family and she loves her family.

The other light at the end of the tunnel is that hopefully we will get a scholarship to Holy Trinity Preschool and she will be attending in the fall, and so far she seems to like the idea of school.  The teachers might not like it....but since they are all completely in love with her anyway I am sure they will learn to deal.

Evangeline has become increasingly sassy to...not just words but she is sticking her tongue out now (thanks a bunch Trinity and Piper, who think its cute to teacher their sister bad habits and then complain about it) and the non stop noises she makes when some one speaks to her.  Its so rude I a find myself apologizing for her constantly.

I have chronicled the ripping up of wall paper. Well now when she gets mad at me, she wets her pants.  WTF!  Of course that doesn't help her cause any because she gets a fanny tap and a double time out.  Really Girl?  You know better.

Of course we get gems like. "I not happy you."  Learned from me saying "Evangeline I am not very happy with your behavior right now."

"I mad." or "I angry." Lets be thankful that she is using those words, recognizes that emotion and can verbalize versus striking out with physical violence.

"Stop it." or "You stop it." Another learned from the home.  "Stop it! Stop it!" or "You need to stop that right now." "You stop......fill in the blank."  This one drives me up the wall.  But I have realized that I too have begun to over use it.  So now I have switched to a friend's saying.  "Bad choice."

I do dislike using the word bad...I like naughty and use naughty.  Evangeline also uses naughty.

Our fault too.  She is so spoiled. Which is a horrible habit to break on everyone's part but we are working on it.  Its a never ending circle, each one of the girls have been spoiled...each one of them has been broken of the habit. More the most part, there are still the occasional lapses on their part of expectation.

I am trying to express that daughter number 3 is almost like daughter number 1.  Lord please save me now.  

And all the fun we have been having almost gets obliterated by the fact that Evangeline is hell on wheels.  And that I do need to find away to start breaking her bad habit....me.

Yup I am her bad habit. Trying having to eat your dinner within reach of a toddler, when they drag their chair over so its flush against yours, there's a very serious problem.


Wish me luck as many long months of reconditioning are in order. 
Step one was started today.  A chair of her own to sit in....I got half the morning without her in my lap and its a great start.