and we're on our way....

So..... It’s almost the end of September, and time for a quick blog!  I was right in my assumption that I would have FAR less free time on my hands with watching the extra kids.  But, I have found myself with some spare time today.  Currently, Robyn is sleeping, and Jesse is having a snack beside me.  Dave is out getting new glasses with Janna (for himself NOT Janna).  We picked them out last night during our new weekly goal “Friday night date night.”  Oddly, the store didn’t have their optician in last night,  because she broke her ankle that afternoon, and nobody else was able to fill in.  So, we picked out the frames and lenses and got the process half way done, but he has to go back in this morning and do the final measurements with the optician and payment.   They are really nice glasses!  Totally different from his last pair.  More timeless looking as they are pretty tiny and rimless, and you can see his gorgeous blue eyes much more clearly than his current chunky black trendy (5 years ago) pair.  I can’t wait for them to arrive.     

I’m far too pooped to do much this morning, so typing seemed like a good activity.  The weekend seems like such a golden time compared to the craziness of the week these days, and I really feel like singing and dancing come 5pm on Friday. It’s been 6 weeks now that I have been providing childcare.  I feel like it took about that long to adjust! Jesse had the roughest initial start with the change in schedule and home life, I had a few hard weeks in the middle, and Janna saved her adjustment challenges for the past couple of week.   Robyn has been fine all along! Maybe hers is still to come??

Anyways, it took me some time to figure out a few things.  Getting to know the kids was one big thing.  I now know who I have to watch for what, and what works and doesn’t work for the different kids I have here.  Another big thing was that I had to tweak my daily routine a bit.  I found I had stuffed a bit too much into the day, and so I have adjusted a couple of things that seem to help a lot.   Nap time was another issue for one of the little ones, and finally, 6 weeks in, he isn’t screaming his head off during nap time. Getting those issues under my belt, and just accepting that my house isn’t going to be as clean as I want it, were key in helping me adjust.   Dave has also been really supportive and amazing. It took me a while, but I am at the point where I feel good about my decision, and am enjoying the days much more than I was at first.

My kids really like having the extra friends around.  On Thursdays, Jesse whines when he realizes that nobody extra is coming over for the day!  Although, he proceeds to fully enjoy the time with just mommy and his siblings.  He also just about cries every Saturday and Sundays when he asks to do homeschooling and I tell him we don’t do home school on the weekends.  That’s a good sign, right?  So, he seems to be at the point where he is embracing the new deal, and doing well with it all.  He and the 3.5 year old I watch Tuesdays and some Fridays have REALLY hit it off, and so it’s wonderful to see him developing such a great friendship. He starts skating lessons in a couple of weeks with Daddy, and is pretty pumped about that as WELL as Halloween.  He decided early on that he wanted to be a clown, and so we picked up a pattern a couple of days ago, and so there is NO going back now!

Janna, as I mentioned, has had the more recent struggles.  She has a love/hate relationship with the other 2 year old I have.  They love to play the same things, and sit and read books together, and can be very cute and silly together.  But, he likes to egg her on because she reacts so strongly, and she likes to scream at him, and then he likes to throw things in her face.   It has been good training ground I guess.  But she cries a lot on and off during the day for no apparent reason either than someone looked at her the wrong way!  As Dave says, “Oh Janna... you have emotions...”   We were talking last night about how scared we are for her teenage years.  One minute she is laughing and joking, and then the next scowling, then crying, then stoic... you just never know!  She tends to be a total angel one on one... and I feel guilty that she is experiencing some sort of middle child frustrations coupled with having to share mommy with extra kids.  Ah well... we’re working through it, and the golden age of 3 ( I LOVE 3!) is just around the corner.  For now, we try and see the funny and cute side in some of her struggles, and embrace all the snuggles and funny 2 year old antics.

Robyn is just steady old Robyn.  She is a fast crawler and cruiser, and plays so well on her own and with others.  Her and Janna have just started “fighting” over toys and such, and Robyn is so funny when she gets angry.  She just balls her fists up and shakes in anger while her face turns bright red for 2 seconds, then gets over it.  The size of her appetite is pretty epic, and she loves just about everything I feed her, except apples or apple sauce.  Actually, all 3 of the kids seem to be doubly hungry these days.  I feel like I might need to up the grocery budget a bit to keep up with their stomachs!

Speaking of stomachs, I’m hungry, so shall be off.  I hope everyone else has straightened out the bumps in their new fall times routines, and will enjoy all the October has to offer:  the weather, nature, Thanksgiving, Halloween fun, lots to look forward to.  Jesse’s nana is coming to Ottawa to visit for a week to kick off October, so he’s pretty excited for the month to arrive, as well.   Thanks for reading.  I’m out.  

BACK AT 'ER 2013

I had a wonderful back to school day, today!  My Tuesday brothers don’t start until next week, and so it was a relaxing and quiet (in comparison to 5) morning around here.

Anyways, my kids were all so happy and content and were so good just playing games, reading, and sharing with one another this morning.  Robyn started cruising along the furniture this morning, and so has had fun finding new things she can pull herself up to.  While she napped, the older kids and I got to work making a back to school cake together.  Janna was very serious about stirring in the vanilla, while Jesse was very serious about cleaning off the beaters

  After a quick trip into the store for icing and a few other odd groceries, we ate lunch, had story time, and everyone went down for their naps so happily and quietly. 

Jesse had quiet time for a bit over an hour, and then he came downstairs to do school with momma while the girls napped.  He was so excited he almost tripped down the stairs.  I had the materials we were working with today all out, and so we made a sign and took a picture to mark the start of the school year!

Jesse was SO good and serious about the whole thing.  We learned a memory verse today, sang a song, and talked about “attentiveness.”  We then did readings from 4 or 5 different books.    We talked about each of the readings and what was the same or different between the characters.  We did some “developing the early learner” activities in his work book, and started on pre-writing skills by introducing a bunch of large letter piece cut outs and playing with them together.   Big line, little line, Big curve, and little curve were quite the hit.  I loved spending this time with Jesse, and see him SO eager to learn and discuss and try new things.  It was really very special, and I hope that he continues to love this time each day J    I hope all you families today had some great moments during this memorable day of the year.  I’m sure there will be several ups and downs along the path, but kids are just so stinkin’ resilient, adaptable, and forgiving.  I’m amazed, daily.

Recently, several articles or blogs have been brought to my attention about how our kids love us, despite our imperfections.  That all moms and different, and nobody can be the perfect mom.  That while we often see in other moms WHERE they shine, everyone has weaknesses.   Sometimes we feel like we aren’t as good or got it together as others... or we can judge and tear down methods that aren’t our own.  It’s so true, and I’ve really just been inspired to try my best to accept my strengths and weaknesses.   While I can organize like a pro, and keep a ship sailing smoothly, I suck at other things.  I am horrible at laundry.  I don’t sort things and I don’t fold fresh out of the dryer.  I forget to spray and wash stuff.  Along with my kids having stained and faded clothes permanently, I am really bad at keeping them clean.  They usually have stuff on their faces or shirts when we are out in public and while I could just grab a wipe that is in my oober oorganized bag,  I just don’t care enough to do it.   I often forget to brush their teeth in the morning (thank goodness for Dave who makes sure they always get done at night), and I give them unhealthy treats at the grocery store to keep them happy.   On the health note, while I do aim for healthy meals and snacks, my kids probably eat frozen pizza or KD a few times a week.  These are just a few of the surface areas I struggle with, and that isn’t even the deep stuff. 

I mention all of this, in that I hope I never sound like I have it all together or know all the answers.  I want to be an encouragement to other moms.  I assume most of them are, at heart,  just as wiped, sticky, and depleted as I am.  I truly thank God for his daily grace and new mercies each morning.  I know He can give me all I need to make it though the days, and on top of that Joy.   I know he cares and lifts me through the rough days.   All the same, I know he works and speaks through others, and that our stories are intertwined.  And so, as a mom, as I encourage and uplift my kids, I hope that I can be an encouragement to other moms despite our differences in child rearing, priorities, and what we put on the table for supper.   I think it would be so great to put aside judgment and self-doubt, and speak love and encouragement into each other.   I’ve been writing out some fall goals for myself over the past few days, and that is one personal area I’m going to be working on this year. 

SO, enough about mommas.  Let’s talk about daddies.  Dave had a great day, as well, and we all enjoyed pizza for supper compliments of Nana Vance!   Dave got home to the kids playing in muddy water outside.  It started out as a science experiment.  Then an older neighborhood gal joined in and made it into some sort of game that involved certain ways of stirring or else you’d get “kicked out of the club.”  As Janna was breaking said rules, our neighbor exclaimed, “Janna will NEVER be kicked out of the club because she is such a little cutie” as she glared at Jesse and threatened to kick him out of the club. 

Dave and I have expressed some concern to one another about Janna getting a bit spoiled as people tip toe around her because she is so tiny and sweet (by times).  However, this morning, I had a bit of a reality check as my 3 kids were playing together.  They were all looking at books with me, and Jesse was tickling Robyn’s stomach and blathering on in baby talk to her, “ Oh you little cutie pie pie pie.  You are just so so sweet, you little girlie girlie.  I could NEVER EVER be mean to you!................. (long pause)  Just Janna.  But NEVER to you!”   Oh my land,  I had to try hard not to laugh.  Needless to say, Jesse will provide Janna’s dose of humbling material for her life, I think.

The kids continued to play the game, which  ended up with them all pretending to throw up into the bucket.  This produced INTENSE laughter, and then the spitting started.  It was here that I spoke up and asked the kids not to spit.  Our neighbor looked up at me with the saddest and more sincere eyes and said, “ But it’s for the customers!”  Kids say the funniest things.

Anyways, we got the kids in and cleaned and fed, AND enjoyed a homely, yet tasty back to school cake.  The kids were down and house tidied by 7:30, and now Dave sits at his computer putting in the necessary night time hours that are a teachers life.  

With that stunning photo, I shall be on my way.  I’m trying to get to bed nice and early when I have a full house the next day, so here I go.  Thanks for reading. I’m out.

New adventures

It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon, and Dave has the big kids on a bus/train trip across the city.  He had to return some library books to Carleton, and thought the kids would have a fun time doing the transfer from bus to bus to get there.  He is so courageous and adventurous... I would just take the van!

Robyn is scurrying around the main floor on all 4s.  She is crawling super fast now, and it is so much fun.  If she wants to come see me, she does! If she wants to be picked up, she’ll crawl over and start trying to scale my leg.  She is pretty good about not getting into things, yet.  She mostly crawls to the toys, sippy cups, kids or myself.  She continues to be able to play so independently, but loves a crowd around.  She is super wiggly, and doesn’t really like to be held for too long anymore.  Such a difference from Miss. Janna, who would stay in my arms all day if she could.

I have survived my first few weeks of watching other children along with my own.  The kids I had here, adjusted very quickly (aside from settling in for naps- but its getting better), and seem to love coming, so that is a huge blessing.  Janna and Robyn did great with the extra kids.  Jesse LOVED having visitors all day, but he was definitely the biggest challenge. He takes more time to adjust to things, and while he loves having people around, he really re energizes after time to himself.  So a shorter quiet time each day was a struggle for him.  Also, Jesse loves to talk talk talk.   He doesn’t quite realize that other kids are perhaps less conversational than he, and he can become easily frustrated when trying to have a conversation with somebody who would rather run around or just play.  But, it’s a good learning ground for him, and I’m sure with time, he’ll settle down a bit.

I have felt a strange mixture of joy and relief come 5 each day.  First off, I feel proud of myself.  That I not only fed and tended to 5 little ones, but that I managed to do art, story time, music time, and get them all to the splash pad and back in one happy piece!  It’s a ton of work, and that everyone ends their day mostly happy, fed, clean-ish, and with lots of playing and reading and an outing each day.... well, it’s a feeling of accomplishment.  Just my 3 kids, feel so easy to tend to once the extras leave.  And, the weekends feel so joyous and relaxed.

But, I also feel guilty.  A bit guilty that I don’t have quite as much time for each of the kids as before.  Dave keeps reminding me that it’s good for the kids to have other kids around but to be near their mom.  It’s good for them to learn they aren’t the center of the universe but still so loved.  That if they were in school or a commercial day care, they would get much less individual attention.  And he is right.  I think it’s just been a big adjustment going from the summer OFF with Dave, into watching 5 kids by myself.   I can’t believe that my mom, at one point, had over 17 kids in her care when she used to do day care when we were young (mind you- this was before licensing numbers, and some were just before or after school kids).    Maybe what I need to do is take on 17 kids for a couple of days, and then 5 will feel like nothing?! Please email me if you’d like to sign your kids up for this experiment ;) 

 I also feel guilty that Dave comes home to a less than bubbly wife, as I am just SO wiped by 5.  I feel so depleted of all energy and patience and think I look like a bit of a zombie.  I have actually had a few 8:00 bedtimes over the past few weeks.   Dave was so sweet, and the other night did a big pile of a laundry for me, and has been doing extra things around the house.  He has also given me his blessing to get out of the house if I need it once he gets home.  I know guilt is not a healthy thing, and so I’m trying to shake it, and just be grateful and know I’m doing my best, and that I might not be able to do all the extra things I did when I was on my mat leaves with just my kids.  And that is ok. 

Anyways, just a few things on my mind, so thought I’d shout them out there while I had a minute.  I’m looking forward to the official start of school next week, all the same.  We start on Jesse’s JK curriculum, it looks SO GREAT!  And will all enjoy our annual back to school cake on Tuesday as well.  I love how the nights are cooling off quicker these days, and the breeze is back in town.  These are nice evenings for after hour walks.  If any of you are interested in hanging out at my house while the kids sleep so Dave and I can get out for some much needed husband and wife time, you can also email me ;) and I can set that up for you! LOL.

Well, Robyn needs someone to play with.  I think she gets a bit bored when there aren’t a ton of little people running around to watch. SO, I should be on my way.  I hope everyone makes smooth transitions into your fall time routine.  I have no idea how I will make out with blogging this year, but will try and touch base a couple times a month.  Thanks for reading.  I’m out.