So the backstory, quickly, is that my lovely BF's ex is a crazy lady who cannot even take care of her cat much less her lovely just turned 3 year old son. BF has full custody, she finally started paying her child support.

The 3 year old has learned FAST how to manipulate his mom. He knows his mom hates me. So he's started doing the whole "Story no like me," and "Story is mean to me" thing. She is, of course, swallowing it hook, line, and sinker, probably overcompensating in her guilty mom way, and in turn reinforcing the behavior.

She's also started being really...civil. This is weird. The last time she was civil it was to try and get her way on something and as soon as she realized it wasn't going to happen, she blew up, claimed he slept with her, and that she was pregnant with his baby and I should get myself checked for STDs.

Her latest thing is that when they get ready to go to bring him back to us, he always says he doesn't want to go.

So she sent a couple of videos she took with her phone. One of them shows VERY standard "I don't want to stop what I'm doing so I'm going to avoid it all and say 'No' to everything" behavior. He does this before bathtime, before bedtime, any time he is playing and having fun and it is time to shift gears, this is the response we get. We just have to be firm, redirect his attention, and deal with the fact that at 2, literally just turned 3 sometimes he'll have a minor fit until his attention refocuses on something else. The other video the kid is obviously EXHAUSTED. I mean he is sweaty, face red, eyes all dark and just looks limp. And he NEVER wants anything to change when he's that tired. It doesn't matter if you say "okay, time for chocolate cake" he'll fight because he's just that tired. She also asks very guided questions.

Now she wants to have a "sit down" about how I treat the boy. Meanwhile my boyfriend is looking at all of this, and the interactions he himself sees, and knows she's not going to like his answer of "Your son is being normal here. He does this with us, too."

In fact, there have been mornings when I've had to stop the game or playing we were doing because it was time to pack up and get ready to go take him to his mom and he's very defiantly stated "I DON'T WANT MY MOM!" But it wasn't about his mom at all. He hasn't said it in ages because I didn't acknowledge it and turn it into a chance for him to argue, just made it clear it was time to stop playing, and time to get dressed because it was time to go. He stopped trying to stall with that line after the 5 or 6th time and it didn't work.

*sigh* I just know this is going to be par for the course, but omg it irks me in these videos when she calls me "Miss Story" like I'm a teacher at his school, not the person that has been in his life for 2 years (and to be honest, more than she has considering she spent a total of 12 months without having seen him at all!)