Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Shooting my mouth off

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm positively anal about kids not playing with guns. Sadly, in this instance, I am not a single parent and therefore my views get tempered by those of the other parent. You know, the one who goes out and buys computer games about hunting which he plays with our obsessive little six-year-old.

So, I've managed to come around to the fact that kids (boys especially) will make guns out of just about anything. And I've realized, thanks to said other parent, that by totally banning the nasty things we only make them more desirable. Thus, I have reluctantly resigned myself to the idea of teaching them about the proper uses of guns. Hunting. Animals only.

As we were driving home from the Snake Dens the other weekend I found my kids pointing toys and "shooting" at other vehicles. I had lectured Kelvin a couple of times earlier that day about never pointing guns at people. So, in my frustration, I told him " If I see you shooting at people I will take away whatever you are using as a gun!"

Matthew, without skipping a beat, pipes up with "What if it's just my hand?"

Nuts.

I just hid my face, shook my head, and laughed as silently as I could. Doug too. It's not fair. He's not supposed to outsmart us yet, is he?

Man, I feel old.

Sam I am

Never underestimate the creative capacity of a Father.

Saturday mornings Doug often lets me wake up slowly while he gets breakfast done for the boys. Sometimes he'll take them out to Mc y'know, but usually we just leave the table set and milk in the fridge so they can help themselves.

Last Saturday I came downstairs to find my dearest feeding my children green eggs and ham. I kid you not. The man dumped green food colouring into the scrambled eggs and my kids ate 'em. I think Kelvin even asked for more.

Just when you think you've seen everything....

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

'nake dens

Yep. It's that time of year again. Time for the drive up to Narcisse for our semi-annual snake pilgrimage.

It's amazing to watch my guys really be boys and catch all the snakes they can find. Doug taught them well, so they aren't just running over and stomping on them. No, they usually get one or two and carry them around from den to den. Of course, when we get to a den with lots of activity they MUST see just how many they can get.

Funny, they haven't really made any fuss about me not carrying any. I'll touch 'em, but I have NO interest in carrying them. This trip I was the one with the camera, so when they offered I had a very plausible excuse.

Before we went out for our first visit (Matt was about one and we've gone twice a year ever since), I was a little worried about what snake dens might look like. I was NOT into having snakes slithering around my feet, or crossing my path. It's just not that bad. The only times I've almost run into them were when I was trying to take pictures. The walk is nice. It's good exercise in fresh air, and the self-esteem it provides for the boys is well worth the drive.

So, I thought I'd post some pics for anyone who hasn't just assumed I've dropped off the face of the earth, blogwise.


"All that snake catchin' has me plum tuckered out!" Posted by Hello


"Trade ya!" Posted by Hello


"He likes me, Mom!" Posted by Hello


"Yup, I can win this here snake eating contest easy!" Posted by Hello

Thursday, September 16, 2004

Ah, sick!....

Seems like a week of illness around here. Yep, must be a change of season.

Kelvin was home from school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. He just had his first day of school today.

Matt started coughing after school on Tuesday so he's been home the last two days and might be here again tomorrow if the night's bad.

Doug even came home sick on Wednesday to sleep.

Me.... so far, so good. Lunches are being made, dishes are being washed, I'm getting to bed a little earlier, and I even managed to use my treadmill this morning. Vitamin C is my friend. I better not get sick tomorrow 'cause Johan asked me to sing tomorrow night and I had to cancel on him the last time he asked because I was sick and had no voice. I don't want him to think I don't want to sing with him....

Well, I must gather the clean laundry and head to bed. If I can get there in the next little bit I can get up for the treadmill again tomorrow.

G'nite

Sunday, September 12, 2004

To sit, or not to sit...

The deed is done.

Matt had his first full day of school on Friday. I survived. Of course, the teacher needed to talk to me for awhile when I went to pick him up....

First day of school. Special class for his needs. STILL I need to talk to the teacher on the first day. Nothing really major.

See, some kids with FAS are particularly sensitive to environmental factors, like texture. She needed to know if Matt has a sensitivity to carpets. Nooooooo. Seems Matt was unwilling to sit on the carpet at all that day. He sat fine in the gym for their assembly (ASSEMBLY ! On the FIRST day of school?!), but wouldn't sit for carpet time. The teacher had the kids sit on the carpet so they could go one at a time to wash their hands and get their lunches. Sounds simple. Immediate payoff for compliance. Would he sit? Nope. Not my kid. We're trying really hard to make sure he knows he has to go along with the routine this year, so the teacher told him "all you have to do is touch your bum to the carpet". And she sat and waited with him. 35 minutes she waited with him. Finally they let him go eat and decided to ask me if there was anything they needed to know about Matt and carpets.

Yep. That's my boy. Funny how two kids without my genetic makeup can each have such a strong portion of my stubbornness. Yes, Kelvin will stand his ground, too.

So, that was our first day.

I actually wrote about this once, but lost the entry when I went to spellcheck it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be Kelvin's first day, but he's got a nasty cold, so we may have to wait a day or two. No point infecting all the other kids right at the beginning. Besides, it's kindergarten.

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Baby Blues

Not what you're thinking....

My baby (well, both of them, actually) is going back to school this week.

Kelvin will be in Kindergarten, so he'll only be gone for the afternoons. I can deal with that. We've done it with at least one of them for the last two years.

Matthew will be gone all day. He won't even be home for lunch. This is the last week I get to have lunch with my baby. And I don't even get Friday to do that.

I know, Matt's my oldest, so why do I refer to him as my baby? Simple. When Kelvin came to live with us he was nearly two years old. Sweet and precious, but not really a baby. Matt is likely the only baby I will ever have. No one knows him better than I do. There's just a different bond with us.

Next year Kelvin will go to grade one, and he'll be gone the whole day, too, but at least he'll come home for lunch. I'll have a chance to connect with him in the middle of the day. And Kelvin has better social skills than Matt does, so I'm less concerned about how he's relating to the kids he's with. I also have more opportunity to get involved with his class, and see who his friends are and how his teacher relates to them.

*sigh....* Life doesn't stop just because we hit a comfortable spot, so..... I guess I just have to take a deep breath and jump right into this phase, 'cause it's not going to wait for me, and I don't want to miss it.