The three amigos

Today our Spanish guests left New York City. After the brutal cold of the last few days, I think they were ready to feel the warm Spanish sun again (okay, it's only in the 50s there, but still!). Yesterday we met for breakfast at a local diner just as snow flurries were sprinkling the sky and it was that first shock of winter that really made me wish I had stayed home in my pajamas. So as the topic of conversation turned to the shopping day ahead, no wonder the boys weren't too keen on heading into the cold, blustery city. After a quick discussion, we decided to let all three of the kids hang out at home with me, while Nacho took Cristina and Jesus into Manhattan to finish up their shopping lists. The boys were an absolute delight compared to Elisa. For whatever reason, Elisa was on quite a tear yesterday which meant that she never really got along with anyone for more than a few minutes at a time. There was a lot of crying, shouting, saying "stop it," and generally flailing about. But for a few minutes, I had all three of them coloring at the table and it was bliss. Or at least it looked that way. I think Elisa wants so badly to be part of their team that she will do anything to insert herself in their games, their fun. When I can find something reasonably similar for her to do, it works well. But inevitably, something will change and she's no longer satisfied to watch them in their big boy pursuits. Luckily, they were both gracious about giving up toys that Elisa only wanted to hog, and they found a lot of amusement in her crazy ranting, especially the "I don't want any" mantra. I know Elisa will miss having the boys around the rest of the week as we stay indoors fighting off the cold weather. Something about having all that extra energy around helped wear her out. And on that note, I'll be missing them too!