Thank you to all of you that popped by over the weekend - even though I hadn't posted anything new :o) I was so busy trying to get ready for a weekend away that I forgot to mention that to you guys & gals! Well, we are back - and let me tell ya - not a moment too soon!
Now, let's prefice this blog entry with a few points...
For anyone with kids, or young nieces & nephews etc. you KNOW how challenging the younger years can be! Our little guy Evan (now 4 1/2 yrs) has been quite the... let's just say... 'handful' since about the age of 18mos. As a baby Evan was AMAZING! He slept & ate well, he had a calm & happy disposition - simply a joy to have as a first child!
Then 18 mos. hit and man o' man - my husband and I didn't know what hit us. It is soooo hard to explain to the average person but I believe there will be parents out there reading this that will know EXACTLY what I am talking about here. With only love intended, we truly thought our son had been kidnapped by aliens and replaced with the devil! Ok, I may be bordering on dramatic here but seriously, the last couple of years have been pretty trying for us all! Many parents will say to us 'Oh - that's just kids' to which I often reply (or wish I could reply) with 'Would you like to have him for 24hrs and then comment'!!!! My husband and I are very tolerant people, so what I'm describing here isn't the normal age appropriate behaviors and growing pains ...it goes much, much further than that!
So, with that background in mind - we were so excited to see some 'forward' progress over the last couple of months that we (I) decided to test the waters and book a weekend away for the 3 of us for my husbands bday! Nothing to major, just Friday to Sunday in Toronto without a heavy agenda. Up to this point, we would NOT even consider a trip like this (even if just for a weekend) because it was way to stressful and quite honestly a waste of money! The only trips we've taken in the last 3 yrs have been camping trips b/c we can more easily control those situations as needed with Evan and his 'unpredictability'~!
Well, the short story is ... I don't think he (we) were quite ready. Almost from the minute we picked Evan up at school to head to the train station (something we thought would completely capture his attention for a couple of hours) - he began to act up. This lasted the entire 2 1/2 hrs on the train and right through the night at the hotel room. After a good night sleep, we were hopeful that he would wake up refreshed and ready to go about our day! The outbursts & tantrums lasted right through Saturday - it even resulted in us leaving the 'Hockey Hall Of Fame', another place Evan has talked about going for a couple of weeks now! Some of you are going to be saying to yourselves... 'ahhh, he's probably just coming down with something and therefore not himself, or maybe he was over-tired or hungry'. Nope. None of these scenarios could explain this behavior! Believe me, I wish it were that easy!
We managed to get through the weekend and things did get a bit better Saturday evening and for our trip home (go figure - he started to settle into the travelling thing) but Rod and I are exhausted and kinda bummed. Everyone always says to travel with your kids while they are young - that they will hit an age when they don't 'want' to travel with their parents anymore but I don't think any of those parents have had a child like ours! So, this message is for all those parents out there that can relate to what I've posted here today - and I know there are some out there.
Someday, we will try the 'travelling' thing again, but for now - HOME & routine is the best place for our little guy and that makes Mommy & Daddy happier people too!
Thanks for stopping by - I will get back to some stamping (my happy place) soon, but for now - here are a few pictures I managed to get when things were going ok on our trip. I will definitely be scrapbooking these shots :o)
Waiting for the train ! Waiting for HHOF to open !
What a thrill ! Evan wasn't the only one making a wish :o)
Loonies for Littles Philanthropic Campaign
April 7th is the date for RSVP so that I have time to order your class supplies! Here's what class guests get to make: 