Consistency
Tony reminded himself of that very sentiment hours later as he leaned against the den's doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and an I-mean-business-expression on his face. "Last time, Ethan," he promised. "If you are not in the tub two minutes from now you will forfeit tomorrow morning's menu of good times."
Scowling under his bangs Ethan contradicted, "It's stupid anyway making me go right now when I could keep watching television. You just don't want me to get to do anything or have any fun at all!"
He referred to the single primetime show Tony had permitted for pre-bedtime viewing. Levi and Ava sat side by side on the floor in front of the set, bathed and in nightclothes as they followed the video's action with rapt attention.
They had followed his mandate and prepared for bed; thus, they had earned the right to view the show.
Ethan, on the other hand, had claimed a seat in front of the television anyway, then proceeded to procrastinate and argue when Tony reprimanded him.
Little Elijah and Vivienne had been put to bed a half hour before and already slept soundly, snuggled tranquilly in their rooms.
Tony had congratulated himself upon a seamless bedtime.
On the other hand, there was Ethan, a child determined to destroy Tony's grip upon sanity.
Ethan had taken it upon himself to sabotage Tony's evening, balking at every single instruction post-supper, no matter how trite. Tony had barely managed to keep himself from delivering a blistering reprimand twice already, and had no intention of prolonging the opportunity for the nine year old to reign triumphantly by manipulating the nightly schedule.
Tony pursed his lips. "It is irrelevant to me whether you find the schedule stupid or not. Now, this is your last chance to make it to the bathtub before I dole out a punishment."
"Fine!" Ethan jumped up angrily and bolted past Tony, clearly determined to display his displeasure as spectacularly as he could.
Peeping at Ava and Levi to see if the tantrum had disturbed them, he reassured himself they still watched contentedly- even at the current car advertisement. Tony stooped down and placed an arm around each. "Ok, remember now that when this show finishes it is straight to bed."
Ava tilted her head back and bestowed a sloppy kiss upon his chin.
"Okey dokey, Pokey Wokey," Levi giggled.
Tony excused himself to the laundry room and lost himself in thought as he diligently attacked piles of clothing. It had not taken him long to ascertain that staying on top of the laundry would cause his life to operate far more smoothly than if he allowed it to accumulate.
Tony shook his head ruefully. Aaah, where were those carefree days when he had lived life blissfully ignorant of laundry detergent with stain fighters?
Ethan returned just as he finished folding the last item of clothing, and Tony leaned out of the laundry room to redirect him. "No television, Ethan."
"What? Why?" demanded the boy, his expression as outraged as his voice when he saw his opportunity for entertainment yanked out from under him.
"Television is an earned privilege, and your conduct and attitude didn't make the cut." Tony spoke firmly, eyebrows raised as he ensured full eye contact.
Ethan's blue eyes managed to radiate his anger. "This is so…."
Tony didn't allow him to finish, but strode over, turned the child around and directed him to head to his bedroom. Too surprised to refuse after the physical directive, Ethan marched through the kitchen and hall. Following closely behind, Tony motioned the boy first into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and then onto his bed and under the covers.
Once Ethan settled, he spoke resolutely. "Young man, you have reached the limit today. You lost your chance to watch television with the behavior you chose when you were so disrespectful on the way to your bath. You have also earned an early bedtime, earlier in fact than Levi and Ava's. Now, since you decided to not obey me either the first or second time I told you to go bathe and put on your pajamas, you have forfeited going outside tomorrow until after lunch."
Ethan opened his mouth to volley additional protests as Tony jerked a finger to his lips and responded sharply. "No, no, my little warrior. Your mouth has not made wise decisions today, and I am going to help save you from you. I am really unhappy about your behavior, and will have no qualms in increasing the punishment if I hear disrespect again."
Angry tears slipped down Ethan's face and the boy scrubbed angrily at them before flinging himself to face the opposite way.
Tony stood up and leaned down to kiss the dark hair. "Make tomorrow a better day, Ethan. I have faith in you. Night night."
Without waiting for a reply he switched off the nightstand's lamp, propped the door ajar, and strode out of the room.
Despite the exhausting day, that night sleep eluded Tony for hours, his mind jetting from one looming issue after another that needed him to target, to de-construct and to handle.
What was he doing?
How could he possibly imagine that he could pull off maintaining this pretense of a family, a job, childcare, school, and children?
He rested the back of his head in the nest of his crossed arms and focused upon the bedroom ceiling, seeking revelations into the unknowns of his life.
Tony clenched and unclenched his jaw, then used his thumbs to forcibly massage the masseter areas, gleaning some satisfaction in the painful release of tension.
The good news was their trip to the doctor had proved surprisingly uneventful, and all of the children had received good checkups.
The pediatrician advised waiting a couple of more months to see if Vivienne would begin to speak on her own.
So, theoretically, he could quell the stirrings of panic which had begun to creep into his daily musings.
As it stood, the second best positive accomplishment he could credit to himself for the day rested in hiring the family's nanny hours earlier.
He licked his lips and reflected upon the earlier, thorough interviewing.
That, alone, he assured himself, had served as an obligation he performed correctly, and definitely methodically, after screening his applicants with precision. He appreciated that training in law enforcement had sharpened his ability to assess people, providing an advantage in culling applicants, and thankfully, he decided upon a woman that afternoon with whom he felt the children could bond and give acceptance.
All five of the kids had wandered in and out through the interviews, and Tony had secretly been pleased at observing the way the nanny candidates reacted to the interruptions.
Like their sitter Daphne, Talia Drew took the large family in stride. In her forties, she supplemented her family income by working as a housekeeper for families tied to the Navy School, staying with each a couple of years until they left Athens for their next military demands.
Tony felt satisfied that this prior familiarity gave her experience and expertise with a chronological range of ages. She had no qualms in dealing with kids from babies to school aged and teens, earning his confidence that she would not favor one of the five children over another.
Efficient and serious, she prided herself on her ability to multi-task.
Though not officially on board until the end of the week, Tony asked her to begin the next day by supervising Elijah and Vivienne for the few hours earmarked for the older children to attend their school's Open House. The window of time would also allow her to familiarize herself with the house and neighborhood, besides prepare the babies for longer absences from the older kids and from him.
Why worry, then?
Tony shook his head in resignation and breathed deeply.
Without question he realized that his own childhood had been blessed with guidance from a wonderful father and incredible abuela, impossible to replicate. Should he even keep trying to recapture that early life for these five?
No, maybe the issue boiled down to trusting his own instincts in handling their care, based upon his own upbringing rather than upon trying to copy it for them.
With that uncertain debate, he at last drifted into a restless sleep.
Perhaps because of the unrestrained excitement of the older kids the next morning as they hurried through dressing and breakfast to prepare for their school's open house, Elijah and Vivienne's behavior deteriorated in a nerve jangling counterbalance.
Tony stood in the middle of the kitchen regarding the youngest two in disbelief, taken aback by the intensity of anger and outrage that a duo of tiny beings could infuse into physical tantrums.
Incensed that Tony refused to allow him a beverage other than milk with his breakfast, Elijah had thrown himself on the kitchen floor and repeatedly kicked the cabinets under the stove in protest.
Vivienne, evidently miffed because Tony insisted she relinquish Ava's tiny pocketbook, stomped by the edge of Ava's chair, yelling crossly as she attempted futilely to snatch it back.
The noise practically deafened him as he stood rooted in place, sucker punched in the speed at which his morning could fall apart and his day's carefully strategized plans could unravel instantaneously.
The three oldest had hastened through the breakfast process, anxious to dress and ready themselves for the school's Open House. Still, their cooperation was handicapped by the bad behavior of Vivienne and Elijah.
Mentally accessing an image from his childhood helped to finally galvanize him into undertaking action with Elijah and Vivienne. The bottom line was to quash the power afforded them through their tempers. Reacting from memory, he leaned down and wrapped an arm around Elijah's waist, securing him against him as he juggled the boy and did the same with Vivienne. With both toddlers kicking and screaming he stalked determinedly down the hall and dramatically deposited Vivienne in her crib and Elijah on his bed.
Standing as a sentinel between the rooms he instructed them to stay where they were before reminding them repeatedly that their timeouts would not begin until they quieted.
Not taking him seriously at first, they continued to rage and climb from their mattresses, determined to return to the breakfast room. He met each attempt with an unyielding replacement in their beds, willing himself not to renege on his decision.
He suffered through nearly seven minutes of the torrential, toddler driven outburst before the last of the ear splitting screams faded to whimpers.
Eyeing his little warriors shrewdly he crossed his arms across his chest and announced, "Now, I will begin timing your punishment. Unfortunately, you added several minutes to it already with your refusal to settle when we first got to your bedrooms." He consulted his watch. "Five minutes of timeout is ticking."
Exhausted, Vivienne scooted to the headboard and stuck her fingers in her mouth, studying Tony shrewdly through the crib's bars. Elijah yanked his security nightgown from its place at his pillow and rubbed it against his cheek, tears still bunching at the corners of his eyes.
Tony stood patiently, managing to quash the inner voice reminding him that he had other things to work on in other areas of the house. He rationalized that his show of strength and insistence upon discipline would strengthen the family's overall discipline.
When had he transformed from the one receiving the punishment to the one assigning the punishment, though?
Had moments like these given Jethro and Maria identical inner musings as they regarded a younger Tony post tantrum?
The allotted time finally freed his toddlers, but Tony recapped the behavior he would not tolerate and the reason he had punished them as he led them up the hall.
Talia's initiation as the family's housekeeper began a scant couple of hours later, and since Elijah and Viv would provide the majority of her focus, Tony insisted they help him as he showed her around the house and detailed the family's routine. Though initially shy with her, they warmed to her as the interaction increased.
Determined that they not be excluded while the little ones dominated the tour, the three oldest shared their own contributions. Ethan explained the designation of chores and the chart Tony had created. Levi and Ava demonstrated by adding checks by their names, which they justified by opening the dishwasher to prove they had emptied it.
Levi frowned. "Daddy, can Ms. Drew salidate us, or just you?"
Talia turned to regard Tony. "Salidate?"
"Validate," Ethan clarified, "he means can you give us credit."
"No, no, only Daddy does that," Ava frowned.
Talia squinted at the list of chores and offered in a serious tone, "First of all, you can call me Miss Talia. Second, I think I will be in a position to validate most of these, actually. Remember that when you three come home from school I will be here until your dad finishes work."
Still suspicious, Ava grabbed Tony's hand. "Is it okay, Daddy? Do you want us to start things before you get home?"
"Absolutely," he grinned, then winked. "Don't think you can wheedle your way out of any of your duties while I'm not here, though, or tell her that I let you slide on certain days of the week."
Regarding Talia seriously, Ethan offered, "Miss Talia, I can help you. I'm the oldest, and I'll explain stuff if you get confused."
Taken aback at Ethan's offer of help and shouldering of responsibility, Tony nodded thoughtfully at the boy. Rarely did Ethan volunteer either his know how or his time.
Perhaps this signaled a change for the better, both in the child's attitude and in his social skills.
Even better was the child's acceptance of responsibility.
"Good call," Tony confirmed, noting that a flash of pride flew across the youngster's face when the words settled.
"I know how to help, too!" Levi interjected, evidently feeling left out of the conversation and wanting a portion of the attention.