First Bike Ride

Aggravation

"Aggravation" the hot new game in this house. You know, the game with the marbles. And I don't like it. I actually do feel aggravated when we play it.

The boys want to keep playing the game to its finish, but their attention spans do not match their enthusiasm. So they end up rolling around on the floor between turns. Then they're still rolling when I aggravatedly tell them to take their turn. Then I tell them that if they keep rolling around not paying attention to the game, I will put it away. They sit up for another round or two, then they forget and are back to rolling around on the floor.

Then I think, "What's my big deal? Why am I so aggravated? So what if it takes 3 1/2 hours to play one little game?" So I don't actually put the game away and just sit there really feeling the aggravation.

But tonight I put the game away, out of their sight. They still remembered it when I asked them if they wanted to play a game before bed. But I gave them a flat-out NO.

We need to have a garage sale. A secret garage sale when the boys are at school.

Advice Needed

Help. My boys cut a large hole in the side of a borrowed pack 'n play. A hole big enough to crawl through. I have had time to cool down now, but I was so frustrated. (To put it mildly.) So, unless I can find a good used one (the borrowed one was well-used), we will need to be shelling out a lot of money to replace it.

I need a creative idea. Obviously, Eli and Evan won't be able to come up with $65+ to buy a new one. I want them to see the seriousness of what they did and to face the consequences. But I am lacking creativity. I love hearing other people's ideas.

A Experiment With Whining

I have been driven nearly to the brink of insanity. It's the whining. High-pitched, the-world's-gonna-fall-apart whining. Sometimes accompanied by desperate jumping up and down.

Evan understands the difference between normal talking and whining. When he scream/whines, "Mommy! Help me!", I tell him, "Say, 'Mom, could you please help me with this?'" And he will repeat that back to me in a nice, calm voice. Complicating everything is the fact that he sometimes just plain talks in a high voice. So when I am on edge from the whining, it's hard for me to distinguish normal talking from whining.

Anyway, I have felt at a loss for how to work with this issue. It triggers a highly emotional response in me, making it hard to respond rationally. And whining back at a kid isn't an effective way to deal with whining. Trust me, I've tried it- though not on purpose.

So the other night I sat down with the good ol' internet to gather some ideas. After reading different articles and message boards, I came up with plan. I printed out 4 pictures like this:


On 3 of the pictures, I drew a line through the whining Calvin. (That is 'No Whining' for my little non-reader.) One I left as it was. I posted the 3 'No Whining' signs in the bathroom, the kitchen, and the living room. The one without a line through it, I posted in the boys' bedroom. Now I was ready for the next day.

The next morning I explained to Evan that the signs meant that these rooms were 'No Whining Zones.' He would not be allowed to whine in these rooms. If he started whining, I would remind him of the sign. He could then either change his tone or go to his room, the designated 'Whining Zone.' If he kept whining and refused to go to the 'Whining Zone,' I would carry him there. He was allowed to whine all he wanted in his room. He seemed to like the idea.

Now, I'm not saying that everything went so well after that. For example, that evening he was taking forever to fold his laundry. Finally I told him that Eli and I would start eating supper soon and he would not be allowed to sit down at the table until his laundry was put away. He slowly folded his laundry and put it away, all while crying loudly for a good 10 minutes. Did that count as whining? Probably. Did I send him to the 'Whining Zone?'. Oops.

But, here's what happened later: He started whining about something and I pointed to the 'No Whining' sign. No joke- He abruptly stopped mid-whine and asked me his question in a very pleasant tone! I could not believe it! It was hilarious.

So, the experiment is off to a good start. We'll see where it goes from here.

Bedtime

This was the boys' bedtime activity and snack. Eli really wants me to put the "recipe" on my blog. It's almost time for a bedtime story, but here it is, in Eli's words:

Need bread, food coloring and milk. If you want, you can take butter and cinnamon sugar. So, you get your piece of bread and pour milk into a container. Then you put food coloring, a paint brush, and mix it up. And then you paint the bread. You put it in the toaster. And then if you want you can put the butter and cinnamon on. And you can use the leftover milk and food coloring to drink. It actually just tastes (pronounced taste-es) like normal milk.

I remember doing this with my mom. And, unfortunately, bedtime is not always so wholesome. Last night I was absolutely, unwholesomely seething before it was all over. Hopefully we're off to a better start tonight. And now, "Don't go away kids, it's storytime!"

Babies

This was me last night. I'm rusty with this baby thing. And my house is no longer baby-proof. And Kendall was at work. (Yes, the boys were the photographers.)

But anyway, I only had these two pink bundles for two nights. One is just over a year old and the other one is almost 2. I'm doing respite care for another foster mom while she's out of town.

The boys have had fun with the girls. They especially like the oldest one. Eli said, "I wish we could keep her." But the honeymoon is ending. A little while later he said, "No! We can't do this!" His concern? "They will be sleeping in my office when I want to have quiet time!" And Evan is having a hard time adjusting to the idea that babies mess things up. He can't get his car ramp all set up in the living room and expect to have it untouched. Sigh. But overall it has been a good experience. They leave tonight after supper (I'm not complaining that we don't have another bedtime to wade through).

Evan's Turn

Last week it was Evan’s turn to start school. He was so excited to go to school and didn’t seem to have anything negative to say about going. He was very proud with his backpack that was nearly as big as him. All four of us walked to school Wednesday morning. We sent Eli off to his class and took Evan into his classroom. He changed his shoes. (A separate pair of indoor shoes is required. Canadian etiquette, you know.) Then it was time to go sit down in circle time. He held onto my hand and wanted me to go with him. So I took him and got him settled next to a little boy he already knew. After I walked away, he never once looked back at us.

We stood in the doorway behind him and watched him for awhile. His buddy beside him kept reaching over and patting his back, playing with his hair, etc, etc. Evan hardly seemed to notice. Good thing he has a brother and is used to so much physical contact or he would have been quite distracted. :)

Evan has only gone once since that day. They do something called “gradual entry” here for the little guys. He will start going every Monday and Wednesday by the end of this month. He is still very excited about school, which, of course, makes Mom happy.

I have a feeling that he is going to very quickly seem much older…

Little Canadian

This morning Evan was cleaning up his farm animals. He was giving two pigs and a clearly-marked cow a ride. The black and white cow fell off. And what was it that Evan cried out?

"Oh no! The moose fell off!"

Little Canadian, eh?

(By the way, Evan wanted me to read this post to him. Then he wanted me to read it again. He cracked himself up.)

Two of a Kind

Poor Kendall. Poor Eli.

If there was one word to describe the weather this "summer," it would be horribledespicablecoldcrappybadwetangry. Oops, did I just put a feeling word in there? Sorry, I got carried away. Anyway.

So for some reason, the first week of September decides to be completely beautiful. Autumn felt sorry for us. It is gorgeous and warm and sunny and bright. And of course, this is the week school starts and a week that Kendall has to work Monday through Thursday from before the boys wake up until bedtime. Then he has to work Saturday and Sunday nights. And last I looked at the forecast, next week was going to be more of that word I said earlier. We'll hope it's wrong again.

It has been very hard for Kendall to be inside every day over this rare sunny time. He has complained more than usual about this and, amazingly, that is not very much. I really am amazed at his attitude. Even though he tells me that he hates being inside this week, I would never be able to maintain his overall attitude.

And then there's Eli. He's in the same boat as Kendall. He's in school every day. We have the Lyndaker family staying here again. So that is a lot of fun Eli is missing out on while he's in school.

Well, today we went blueberry picking with the Lyndakers and another of Eli's most favoritest families. I purposely didn't mention it to Eli. But he found out this morning before school. It was very hard for him. He wanted everyone to postpone it until he wasn't in school. After a short time of complaining, he got on with life. And with a very good attitude, I might add.

So I told him about Daddy's predicament and affirmed both of them for their good attitudes about missing out. Eli doesn't always get over things so quickly, but today he really reminded me of Kendall.



Speaking of similarities to his father, I have to tell a little story from last week. We were out blueberry picking with my parents. (It's a big thing here. Right, Twila?) The best blueberry patches are out in the bush on big sections of land where it's been logged. So it's fairly rugged terrain and covered by bushes. Pretty close to Blueberries For Sal. Anyway, my mom was crouched over picking. She looked up and saw two small legs sticking straight up into the air. Kirsten heard a calm voice from the direction of the legs: "A little help?" Upon investigation, Mom discovered that Eli had fallen straight backwards down a little drop-off. He was on his back, unharmed, with his legs in the air.

It struck us as so funny. So like his dad. What made it funnier was the difference between boys. Trust me, we would have definitely found out in a much more dramatic fashion if my other son would have had a similar mishap. Not sure where he gets the drama... (As I sit here looking around innocently.)

School Days

Eli started Grade 1 yesterday. (Formerly known as 1st Grade- back in my old life. I've had to train myself to say it this way so I'm not so obviously a foreigner.) It's five days a week, so now we begin many years of the school calendar ruling our lives. I was feeling sorry for Eli in the days leading up to the start of school. He's just happily playing along every day, then BOOM! Five days a week- school. But I also think it's good for him.

Eli was both excited and nervous. Me too. For kindergarten we used to drop off the kids just inside their special kindergarten entrance. Now he uses the same entrance as all the other kids and I'm supposed to leave him in the school yard until the bell rings. !!! I actually plan on staying and watching him play until the bell rings for at least a few weeks.

Anyway, on the way to school yesterday I explained that I would be in the school yard until the bell ring (lots of parents hang out there), then I would leave once he went into the school. Well, after we got there, I realized that several other moms were going to go up to the classroom with their kids. So I told Eli that I'd like to do that and asked if that was fine. His answer: "No." Okay then. But I really wanted to. But should I respect his wishes? But I really wanted to. He's only 5! Finally I told him that I was going in and he agreed that it was okay. I kept my space and helped another little straggler find his way to the classroom. I watched from the sidelines as Eli and the other children found their coat hooks and cubbies. Then they stood to sing O Canada. I didn't hang around too long and then slipped out the door.

I marvel at how brave and flexible kids are. I guess I've been in my share of new situations this past year, but I'm still amazed by kids.

Eli was upbeat after school and said, "I kind of like Grade 1!"

Meanwhile, Evan had his meeting with his teacher. He'll be starting Junior Kindergarten next Wednesday and attending Mondays and Wednesdays. Evan can act shy, so I told him that he needs to answer his teacher's questions. Well, we went in and met her. We all sat on little chairs at a little table. He did great! I was so proud of him. I felt like I was about to burst out in something, though I didn't know if it would be tears or laughter.

Evan explained the worksheets he had completed ahead of time and even used the word "realize," though I doubt Mrs. Morris understood it. He was confident in his counting, then got mixed up in the teens. He looked at me with an embarrassed smile, but was reassured that it was fine.

Evan says he's excited about school. I think it will be good for him because he is very dependent on Eli in social settings. He gets upset if someone else sits beside Eli and he can't. He always wants to play with Eli and the big boys. He gets panicky and mad if Eli runs off without him. He even physically hides behind Eli at times. So I'm glad if Evan can make his own little buddies and find out what he's good at apart from his big brother.

Overall, I'm excited about some of the changes that are coming about with the start of the school year. And we are ready for some routine. Amen.