When we finshed the boys new room we put up a white board for them. My original thought was for them to be able to doodle or write notes for themselves. The first night they had it up we decided to add a picture and little note for them to wake up to along with a new word and quote. They loved it and the next night they brought me the board to my room to make sure that it was fresh for the morning. I can tell you that on a few nights when we have arrived home in the wee hours the last thing I want to do is take the time to research words and quotes or be creative with a new picture....however the last thing they say when they go to sleep is "don't forget to do the board".
It is also a nice way for Chris to send the a personal message now that he is back to work from his vacation time. I am grateful as well that he is sharing in the task each night. Actually he has taken more of it on than I have. It is funny how the little things make such a big impact.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Parenting blunder
We are not always at our shining best. There are times that we will, as my children say so frequently, "epically fail". With my husband's permission I thought I would share one of his not so bright moments. I have my own of course but his are so much funnier.
He was not in the most chipper of moods last night, not a bad mood really just not a good mood. After a long round of family Carcassone (a tile based game) he asked the boys to head off to brush their teeth and hop into bed. Giving them a bit to complete the task, Chris heads upstairs to see them off to bed. I hear him ask our youngest " Eoin have you brushed your teeth yet?". I am assuming Chris was doubtful that the answer was going to be favourable because he next stated "If you tell me no you are going to be in trouble". Where was Eoin to go with this? It was a complete set up. Eoin was being pushed to lie to his dad about brushing his teeth. An unintentional set up, but a conundrum none the less for Eoin. Eoin piped up in his usual style and exclaimed with a goofy look (half amused, half unsure). "ummm Dad if I tell you I brushed my teeth I will get in trouble for lying and if I tell you the truth I will still get in trouble..................sooooooo..........I am going with no I didn't brush my teeth".
Good for Eoin for standing up for himself and for Chris who was able to see the humour and utter silliness of the situation later on. I certainly got a few good laughs out of it.
He was not in the most chipper of moods last night, not a bad mood really just not a good mood. After a long round of family Carcassone (a tile based game) he asked the boys to head off to brush their teeth and hop into bed. Giving them a bit to complete the task, Chris heads upstairs to see them off to bed. I hear him ask our youngest " Eoin have you brushed your teeth yet?". I am assuming Chris was doubtful that the answer was going to be favourable because he next stated "If you tell me no you are going to be in trouble". Where was Eoin to go with this? It was a complete set up. Eoin was being pushed to lie to his dad about brushing his teeth. An unintentional set up, but a conundrum none the less for Eoin. Eoin piped up in his usual style and exclaimed with a goofy look (half amused, half unsure). "ummm Dad if I tell you I brushed my teeth I will get in trouble for lying and if I tell you the truth I will still get in trouble..................sooooooo..........I am going with no I didn't brush my teeth".
Good for Eoin for standing up for himself and for Chris who was able to see the humour and utter silliness of the situation later on. I certainly got a few good laughs out of it.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
3BoysCreate an Animation Short
I am the very proud mama of 3 boys who just completed their very first animation short. Each one had some input to varying degrees and shared great ideas. Here is the URL to find their movie. It was in response to a contest where each submission had to answer the question "Why did the chicken cross the road". This is their submission.
3BoysCreate Youtube animation short
3BoysCreate Youtube animation short
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Accepting the gray in life
Yesterday morning when I woke up I was quickly joined by my youngest who crawled out of his own bed and climbed under the covers for a good morning cuddle. What a lovely way to wake up; the smiling face of someone who loves you unconditionally. I laid quietly with him snuggled into my arm just listening to him chatter on about anything and everything. He is a happy guy most times but in the morning he has the most genuine contented look on his face.
Monday morning at our LLL enrichment meeting the topic of discussion was parenting in shades of gray. We talked about the "yes" and "oh hell no" things we thought we would or would never do as parents before we became parents. Experience changes things. Beliefs can turn from clear cut to the shades of gray quickly. As an 'expert' in childrearing before I became a parent, affirmed in my mind even more by the fact that I was trained in early childhood development, there were very clear things that I would or would not do.
Woulds:
Be the boss
Go back to work (at least part time)
Put my children in French immersion
Revised Woulds:
Try to be a fair parent
Homeschool
Stay home happily for 12 years and going
Would nots:
Let the children in our bed
Spank
Nurse after they could talk
Change my lifestyle because of children
Revised Would nots:
Have my babies sleep in another room
SPANK *this will be a would not/ hell no forever*
Wean before they are ready, even beyond first words
Take back my lifestyle without children ever
I clearly remember sharing with a parent who wanted my advice as a professional on what to do with her 2 year old who would get up in the night and join them in their room. My sound advice? Put up a gate so she can't get out of the room and after a few nights she will probably just give up trying to get their attention. Worst advice EVER! If I had followed my own advice there are so many precious moments with each of our boys cuddled in next to us that we would never give up even for more bedspace through their younger years. And I am here to scream at the top of my lungs....Co-sleeping did not lead to bad habits sleeping habits! The only habit that came from co-sleeping was being attentive to our children and learning to appreciate the moments that are gone too fast as they grow.
There are only a few things now that are in a clear cut category for us, the rest we have come to realize could at some time become a gray area. We will not limit ourselves to what we thought we would do because that is the way it is done.
Monday morning at our LLL enrichment meeting the topic of discussion was parenting in shades of gray. We talked about the "yes" and "oh hell no" things we thought we would or would never do as parents before we became parents. Experience changes things. Beliefs can turn from clear cut to the shades of gray quickly. As an 'expert' in childrearing before I became a parent, affirmed in my mind even more by the fact that I was trained in early childhood development, there were very clear things that I would or would not do.
Woulds:
Be the boss
Go back to work (at least part time)
Put my children in French immersion
Revised Woulds:
Try to be a fair parent
Homeschool
Stay home happily for 12 years and going
Would nots:
Let the children in our bed
Spank
Nurse after they could talk
Change my lifestyle because of children
Revised Would nots:
Have my babies sleep in another room
SPANK *this will be a would not/ hell no forever*
Wean before they are ready, even beyond first words
Take back my lifestyle without children ever
I clearly remember sharing with a parent who wanted my advice as a professional on what to do with her 2 year old who would get up in the night and join them in their room. My sound advice? Put up a gate so she can't get out of the room and after a few nights she will probably just give up trying to get their attention. Worst advice EVER! If I had followed my own advice there are so many precious moments with each of our boys cuddled in next to us that we would never give up even for more bedspace through their younger years. And I am here to scream at the top of my lungs....Co-sleeping did not lead to bad habits sleeping habits! The only habit that came from co-sleeping was being attentive to our children and learning to appreciate the moments that are gone too fast as they grow.
There are only a few things now that are in a clear cut category for us, the rest we have come to realize could at some time become a gray area. We will not limit ourselves to what we thought we would do because that is the way it is done.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Adoption talk
The progress in growing our family is moving slowly. In June I shared that we expressed interest in a sibling group of three young girls and inspite of the busy, busy week long placement of the 2 different young children last month we were still excited to learn more about the sibling group. Not entirely sure we want to go back to having toddlers and preschoolers but we are still open to considering it. We just found out last week that indeed the Children's Aid was moving foward with a local family for the sibling group. We were just too much of a distance to be considered a good match. Since the siblings were not yet crown wards but instead a foster with a view to adopt situation there would have been twice weekly trips two hours away for at least one year.
It was a bit of a blow and we took a few days to let the wound heal. Grieving the loss of what could have been. I understand the reasoning and the travel certainly would have not been in their best interest. Despite that it is something we have to move forward from and that is not always easy.
Patience in this is hard and equally difficult is trusting that there may be more opportunities in the future. It is often difficult for people to believe that adopting older children and beyond that adopting children of sibling groups more than two still takes a long time. It is hard to imagine a family who has been approved to adopt, thus being picked apart and judged to be a "good" family, having to wait 4 or more years despite being interested in adopting 2 or more siblings into school-ages. It happens a lot. No doubt there are families who are approved to adopt and opportunities happen within the first year but that is not certainly the norm.
We are just approaching one year since I made the first contact with our local CAS and only a couple of months since our adopt eligibility so we most likely have a long road ahead. It would be nice if the right situation came along more quickly but for now I am grateful for our family as it is and will continue to strive for patience in this process.
It was a bit of a blow and we took a few days to let the wound heal. Grieving the loss of what could have been. I understand the reasoning and the travel certainly would have not been in their best interest. Despite that it is something we have to move forward from and that is not always easy.
Patience in this is hard and equally difficult is trusting that there may be more opportunities in the future. It is often difficult for people to believe that adopting older children and beyond that adopting children of sibling groups more than two still takes a long time. It is hard to imagine a family who has been approved to adopt, thus being picked apart and judged to be a "good" family, having to wait 4 or more years despite being interested in adopting 2 or more siblings into school-ages. It happens a lot. No doubt there are families who are approved to adopt and opportunities happen within the first year but that is not certainly the norm.
We are just approaching one year since I made the first contact with our local CAS and only a couple of months since our adopt eligibility so we most likely have a long road ahead. It would be nice if the right situation came along more quickly but for now I am grateful for our family as it is and will continue to strive for patience in this process.
Monday, August 15, 2011
bedposts and.....actually no bedposts
I think I have shared previously that I am a changer, a hair changer, a furniture changer, a paint changer....I like to mix things up. Whether it is simply moving the couch from sectional to separate pieces or a full bathroom reno I like the results of change. This winter and into the spring we were working on changing the boys room...again. Really the "we" part of the equation is mostly my father and Chris who diligently planed the rough maple one by one and then put the bed together. I got the fun job of painting and design. I am thrilled with the results!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Cross it off Eoin's bucket list
Yesterday after 8 days of doing respite for 2 children we decided to have some familiy fun. We headed down the highway to a conservation area with a waterfall. It was so much fun. We played in the water and then went for a great hike.
Eoin claims he can cross off 'jumping off a cliff' from his bucket list. I am still waiting to hear from him what the rest of the items are.
Here are some pics
Eoin claims he can cross off 'jumping off a cliff' from his bucket list. I am still waiting to hear from him what the rest of the items are.
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| 1..2..3 jump Eoin crosses jumping off a cliff from his bucket list |
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| me and my boys |
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| All my boys |
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| Seamus takes the plunge next |
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| Liam tries again. First attempt was more of a slip into the pool |
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| Brothers to the end |
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