This morning:
Emptied and loaded the dishwasher
Did the dishes
Swept the floor
Culled the toy room
Flipped through a cook book for wheat free dinner ideas.
Built a train track
Painted a picture
Played 30 games of Perfection and one of Bedbugs
Made lunch
Cleaned up after lunch
There is a load of laundry waiting to be folded, and one wet in the washer (cringe.) I culled out everything that didn't belong in the toy room this morning, but it's still sitting in a pile on the living room floor. Bathroom needs cleaning today. At least 6 more hours of accounting to catch up for January.
But right now I'm sitting down to write, and then do some scripture study and have a little quiet prayer time.
Because life is about balance. There is always more work that could be done. A stay at home mother's work never ends. The list is never checked off. But I think that just as those who work out of the home can fall into the "workaholic" trap, so too can mothers at home. And while I can't speak for everyone, I know that that would be unhealthy for me. I need balance. Taking time to do things that aren't pressing isn't slacking off, it's keeping my mind healthy and happy and sharp and ready to jump back into work. If I do nothing but work, I'm actually less productive, because my attitude slides, my body becomes sluggish, and it takes forever to do things.
I think the days that go best for me are ones when I've taken time to keep things in balance. Today is a good day.
And so, when I choose to read a chapter from my book,
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Colin's theme
Colin received his report card last week. As expected, he is flourishing in math and visual art. Where he is lagging a little behind is vocabulary in oral and written use. Since he is attending a francophone school where most kids have one parent whose first language is French, this was something we expected might come up. It is not our goal to have the kids graduate from a Francophone school; rather what we want is that they are fluently bilingual. Keeping this end in mind is important as we navigate this school system, since we must accordingly adjust our expectations for the kids in relation to their school mates,
That being said, I wanted to come up with some way to help Colin use the French he is learning at school in a more organic way. Enter: the theme. If you are a fan of the film "A Christmas Story" you have probably already identified what I mean, and probably had a little chuckle about it also. A theme is a short, one page written piece on a specific theme.
Colin is now expected to produce one theme a week, on Friday afternoons. He may choose whatever subject he likes, or may ask for a suggestion from me. He must write 10-15 sentences, in French, on that subject. He has a pictorial French-English dictionary as well as a Larousse dictionary. He is encouraged to write on that subject in detail, and to try and use whatever vocabulary and grammar lessons he has been learning at school. After he writes it, I sit down and read it with him, correcting only the common or repetitive mistakes, or simple grammar he is already learning.
Last Friday he wrote his first theme. I gave a couple suggestions as I explained the assignment, including Lego, playing in the snow, or a friend from school. He shook his head and said he already knew what the subject of his first theme would be.
For the record, here it is (English translation):
Hello. My name is Colin. When I am big like my dad I want to be in his work. His work is Senior Moving. It moves people from one house to another. My dad works with his brothers and his dad. Their names are Doug, James, Sean, Andrew and Scot. My mother helps with his work. My dad is the president and his dad is the president with my dad. They have offices in Toronto and London.
(How does that not melt your heart!)
That being said, I wanted to come up with some way to help Colin use the French he is learning at school in a more organic way. Enter: the theme. If you are a fan of the film "A Christmas Story" you have probably already identified what I mean, and probably had a little chuckle about it also. A theme is a short, one page written piece on a specific theme.
Colin is now expected to produce one theme a week, on Friday afternoons. He may choose whatever subject he likes, or may ask for a suggestion from me. He must write 10-15 sentences, in French, on that subject. He has a pictorial French-English dictionary as well as a Larousse dictionary. He is encouraged to write on that subject in detail, and to try and use whatever vocabulary and grammar lessons he has been learning at school. After he writes it, I sit down and read it with him, correcting only the common or repetitive mistakes, or simple grammar he is already learning.
Last Friday he wrote his first theme. I gave a couple suggestions as I explained the assignment, including Lego, playing in the snow, or a friend from school. He shook his head and said he already knew what the subject of his first theme would be.
For the record, here it is (English translation):
Hello. My name is Colin. When I am big like my dad I want to be in his work. His work is Senior Moving. It moves people from one house to another. My dad works with his brothers and his dad. Their names are Doug, James, Sean, Andrew and Scot. My mother helps with his work. My dad is the president and his dad is the president with my dad. They have offices in Toronto and London.
(How does that not melt your heart!)
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Mothers meetings
I have attended several meetings over the past two weeks, all attended by other mothers. As I look back (and forward to many, many more) it makes me laugh. One meeting was of the three of us who lead the children's program (Primary) at our church. I have 4 kids, another has 3 boys (the same age as mine) and the third has 2 daycare kids.
Trying to organize just getting to the meeting went something like this, in an email chain:
- I can do Thursday or Friday morning.
- I can't do Thursday, I have to take the kids to something. Let's do Friday.
- Can we do my house so that the baby can get in her morning nap?
- If it's Friday I don't have the car, but I can put all the kids in the stroller and walk to the church
- My 3 year old will be able to escape from the church because we can't lock him into one area.
- I can pick you up and drive to someone's house
- If you don't have a car, let's do it at your place
- I don't have baby gates anymore, but I'll ask around and try to get the place baby proof
- I'll make sure to bring snacks to keep the 7 children quiet while we try to meet.
Seriously, this is the conversation I seem to have every time I have a meeting.
This week my sister-in-law and I have been working on a presentation for the family company. By the end of the week it will have meant 4 mornings trying to make our 2 and 3 year olds get along and not get tired of each other, plus trying to bounce the baby, or get her to sleep. It means getting the kids snacks or letting them finish off all the cereal from nearly empty boxes. It means over an hour trying to clean up from the free-for-all mess that kept them busy. It meant 4 clean ups because I'm also trying to toilet train and I kept getting distracted with the work I was trying to do.
Seriously, when this presentation goes off, people will see a slick, well-thought out presentation. What they won't see is how amazing it is given the work environment circumstances!
When I was at that Primary meeting last week, I joked to the other moms "Can you imagine our husbands arranging and having a meeting like this?" Nope - they just say they want to have a meeting and off they go. Totally a "mars and venus" separate worlds scenario!
Trying to organize just getting to the meeting went something like this, in an email chain:
- I can do Thursday or Friday morning.
- I can't do Thursday, I have to take the kids to something. Let's do Friday.
- Can we do my house so that the baby can get in her morning nap?
- If it's Friday I don't have the car, but I can put all the kids in the stroller and walk to the church
- My 3 year old will be able to escape from the church because we can't lock him into one area.
- I can pick you up and drive to someone's house
- If you don't have a car, let's do it at your place
- I don't have baby gates anymore, but I'll ask around and try to get the place baby proof
- I'll make sure to bring snacks to keep the 7 children quiet while we try to meet.
Seriously, this is the conversation I seem to have every time I have a meeting.
This week my sister-in-law and I have been working on a presentation for the family company. By the end of the week it will have meant 4 mornings trying to make our 2 and 3 year olds get along and not get tired of each other, plus trying to bounce the baby, or get her to sleep. It means getting the kids snacks or letting them finish off all the cereal from nearly empty boxes. It means over an hour trying to clean up from the free-for-all mess that kept them busy. It meant 4 clean ups because I'm also trying to toilet train and I kept getting distracted with the work I was trying to do.
Seriously, when this presentation goes off, people will see a slick, well-thought out presentation. What they won't see is how amazing it is given the work environment circumstances!
When I was at that Primary meeting last week, I joked to the other moms "Can you imagine our husbands arranging and having a meeting like this?" Nope - they just say they want to have a meeting and off they go. Totally a "mars and venus" separate worlds scenario!
Friday, 8 February 2013
Benjaminugget
Benjamin has dinner with his grandparents every Monday night while I take the boys to skating. He loves this time with all the attention of the adults, but (as with all my kids) is yet to be in love with the idea of dinner. (Seriously, my kids eat all their food at breakfast time and almost nothing after that!)
The other day he came back after dinner and I asked him "What did you have to eat tonight?"
"It was gross."
"What was it?"
"It was germs. Nothin' but germs, germs, germs."
That's our Ben :)
The other day he came back after dinner and I asked him "What did you have to eat tonight?"
"It was gross."
"What was it?"
"It was germs. Nothin' but germs, germs, germs."
That's our Ben :)
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
The map
My world map is finally hanging on the kitchen wall. It looks amazing, and is exactly what I was looking for. More than that, it's doing exactly what I hoped it would. At least once a day, usually during a meal, we are answering questions about geography, population, land use, world events, or travel. Because we're all sitting in one spot (for at least 5 minutes, anyway) we have time to answer questions, ponder the answers, and let that lead to more questions. By far the best part of the new decor in the house.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Colin
(It's been a while since I posted about the kids specifically. I gather lots of moments and stories that I want to post to have in the record, but there are fewer and fewer minutes I have to spare to write. So these are some catch up memories)
Colin is growing up so fast before our very eyes. It's true that the oldest is often older than their years. He looks up to James and I as examples, and so matures in leaps and bounds.
He's quick as anything at math. He is fascinated by how numbers work, and adds and subtracts as though he has been doing it for years, and already has a good grasp on multiplication and division. Like me, it seems to make sense in his mind, so he is never looking at an equation simply as a calculation, but rather as making sense of the world around him.
James has begun having weekly interviews on Sunday afternoons with Colin. This is a chance for Colin to talk about what's happened during the week, and to pose any questions (about anything) he might have. They also open up Colin's journal, write a few sentences about the week in it, and check up on Colin's progress toward his yearly goals. We set some goals we want Colin to achieve, and he chose some of his own (more about that back in my post on the special dinner we took Colin to.) He chose learning to tie shoelaces and learning to take out the garbage. Colin loves these interviews, the one-on-one time with Dad, and yet another chance to feel grown-up.
Seven years has also brought a little bit of attitude with it. Colin sometimes seems under the illusion that if he snaps his fingers we'll all jump to his command. A gentle rebuke is usually all that is necessary to remedy the notion, however, as Colin still loves to seem helpful in all things.
Colin's allowance is tied to "money chores" - hand scrubbing the kitchen floor, scrubbing the bathroom floor, and vacuuming the stairs. He's been fairly consistent at asking to do these each week in order to earn money. He has no interest in spending the money - he wants to save up for one of several things, all of which are over $100. I've also begun "bonus money" they can earn, by memorizing the children's Primary songs they learn at church. These are songs that teach beautiful spiritual concepts, and others help in memorizing the order of the books of scripture ("Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers...")
Colin still loves lego more than anything. His creations get bigger and more involved with each one. We've also noticed he has a really good eye for drawing (didn't get that from his mom or dad!) I'll be interested to see how that develops. He is excited for the ball hockey league that starts in the spring. He spent his birthday and Christmas money on goalie equipment, and we've had a blast heading over to the church gym for an evening to play ball hockey as a family.
I feel like I should be jumping on the music bandwagon soon. He's already seven, and can read and has a good understanding of math, which are the basic criteria I used to use when taking on piano students. I just feel like our days are so busy with just the basics that I can't imagine having 20 uninterrupted minutes to teach him an instrument. Maybe come September...
Colin and Caleb enjoy playing lots of games together now, but I wonder if in the future as Benjamin gets older if Colin will move off to be more by himself. Caleb and Benjamin seem to have more fire beneath them, needing to run and tumble around. Colin is much more prone to daydreaming while working at one task for long periods of time.
Colin is growing up so fast before our very eyes. It's true that the oldest is often older than their years. He looks up to James and I as examples, and so matures in leaps and bounds.
He's quick as anything at math. He is fascinated by how numbers work, and adds and subtracts as though he has been doing it for years, and already has a good grasp on multiplication and division. Like me, it seems to make sense in his mind, so he is never looking at an equation simply as a calculation, but rather as making sense of the world around him.
James has begun having weekly interviews on Sunday afternoons with Colin. This is a chance for Colin to talk about what's happened during the week, and to pose any questions (about anything) he might have. They also open up Colin's journal, write a few sentences about the week in it, and check up on Colin's progress toward his yearly goals. We set some goals we want Colin to achieve, and he chose some of his own (more about that back in my post on the special dinner we took Colin to.) He chose learning to tie shoelaces and learning to take out the garbage. Colin loves these interviews, the one-on-one time with Dad, and yet another chance to feel grown-up.
Seven years has also brought a little bit of attitude with it. Colin sometimes seems under the illusion that if he snaps his fingers we'll all jump to his command. A gentle rebuke is usually all that is necessary to remedy the notion, however, as Colin still loves to seem helpful in all things.
Colin's allowance is tied to "money chores" - hand scrubbing the kitchen floor, scrubbing the bathroom floor, and vacuuming the stairs. He's been fairly consistent at asking to do these each week in order to earn money. He has no interest in spending the money - he wants to save up for one of several things, all of which are over $100. I've also begun "bonus money" they can earn, by memorizing the children's Primary songs they learn at church. These are songs that teach beautiful spiritual concepts, and others help in memorizing the order of the books of scripture ("Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers...")
Colin still loves lego more than anything. His creations get bigger and more involved with each one. We've also noticed he has a really good eye for drawing (didn't get that from his mom or dad!) I'll be interested to see how that develops. He is excited for the ball hockey league that starts in the spring. He spent his birthday and Christmas money on goalie equipment, and we've had a blast heading over to the church gym for an evening to play ball hockey as a family.
I feel like I should be jumping on the music bandwagon soon. He's already seven, and can read and has a good understanding of math, which are the basic criteria I used to use when taking on piano students. I just feel like our days are so busy with just the basics that I can't imagine having 20 uninterrupted minutes to teach him an instrument. Maybe come September...
Colin and Caleb enjoy playing lots of games together now, but I wonder if in the future as Benjamin gets older if Colin will move off to be more by himself. Caleb and Benjamin seem to have more fire beneath them, needing to run and tumble around. Colin is much more prone to daydreaming while working at one task for long periods of time.
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Inspired
My thoughts have been all consuming toward the workshop that happened yesterday (other than attending to a baby, preschooler, and two older boys, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc!) And now it is passed. I write this entry not as a brag post, but as a reminder to my future self when I face this again, that everything will be okay.
It was amazing. I know now why the script felt awkward as I rehearsed it up in my bedroom. A workshop like that is about playing off your audience. Each of the six times I gave the workshop, it was slightly different. I followed a basic outline, but the emphasis fell in different places, the jokes came or went, the atmosphere affected the tone. I hardly referenced the script at all, and didn't even pull out my note cards. There is a rhythm I fell into that simply worked.
But my favourite part of it all wasn't anything I said. It was seeing the reaction from the teens sitting in front of me. It was their laughter and participation, and then being able to hear a pin drop. It was the strong presence of the Holy Spirit testifying to their hearts. It was the rowdy 16 year old at the back with sarcastic comments and an unwillingness to participate who, when I announced the title of the song I was going to sing, sat up in his chair and exclaimed "that's one of my favourite songs," then sat completely rapt as my wobbly and overused voice warbled its way through the song. It was 100 eyes at a time waiting for the next part of the story of Esther, marvelling at a girl who was about their own age being infused with a confidence from God. It was watching their minds realize their incredible individual worth as sons and daughters of God.
(And that friend that I was so worried about - the fun, entertaining one was going to knock everyone socks off and make my own presentation lame and boring? Well, he was fantastic. As it turns out, he owns a company that does motivational speaking in schools. No wonder he's amazing. And my own little pat on the back was that at the end of the day, he offered me a job! It is not the right time in my life right now, but perhaps in the next few years as the kids get a little older and more independent, I might be able to take him up on his offer.)
It was amazing. I know now why the script felt awkward as I rehearsed it up in my bedroom. A workshop like that is about playing off your audience. Each of the six times I gave the workshop, it was slightly different. I followed a basic outline, but the emphasis fell in different places, the jokes came or went, the atmosphere affected the tone. I hardly referenced the script at all, and didn't even pull out my note cards. There is a rhythm I fell into that simply worked.
But my favourite part of it all wasn't anything I said. It was seeing the reaction from the teens sitting in front of me. It was their laughter and participation, and then being able to hear a pin drop. It was the strong presence of the Holy Spirit testifying to their hearts. It was the rowdy 16 year old at the back with sarcastic comments and an unwillingness to participate who, when I announced the title of the song I was going to sing, sat up in his chair and exclaimed "that's one of my favourite songs," then sat completely rapt as my wobbly and overused voice warbled its way through the song. It was 100 eyes at a time waiting for the next part of the story of Esther, marvelling at a girl who was about their own age being infused with a confidence from God. It was watching their minds realize their incredible individual worth as sons and daughters of God.
(And that friend that I was so worried about - the fun, entertaining one was going to knock everyone socks off and make my own presentation lame and boring? Well, he was fantastic. As it turns out, he owns a company that does motivational speaking in schools. No wonder he's amazing. And my own little pat on the back was that at the end of the day, he offered me a job! It is not the right time in my life right now, but perhaps in the next few years as the kids get a little older and more independent, I might be able to take him up on his offer.)
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