Last Day Of School!

Aaaaand exhale. 

Whewf. 

They We I made it to the last day of school. 

Its been a long year, this Grade One business.   Owen in particular had a rough start, to the point where I was seriously considering pulling both boys out of public school and paying $40,000 per year for Montessori. 

Thankfully,  by Christmas things had calmed down and Owen's insane class had settled into a new, less destructive normal.  His confidence has grown, as has his french vocab, math skills and concentration.  Will has become Mr. Social.  Everytime I go into his class, five or six girls come running up to me and ask, "William's mum, can I have a playdate with William?  Pleeeeeeease?" And despite an initial struggle with the concept of addition and subtraction, both boys love nothing more than to do math drills at the dinner table.  Okay, that last one is just weird to me, but I'll find it in me to support them if they decide to become Mathletes. 

Actually, its been kind of amazing to see the jump in knowledge from September to June.  At the beginning of the year, neither William nor Owen could read very well, in either english or french.  And now they're reading Elly and me Elephant & Piggie books at bedtime and are sailing through their french storybooks.  What was a huge effort at the beginning of the year, now seems like old news.  The brothers regularly talk to each other in french and often speak franglais to me.  Owen's teacher is forever telling me how enormous his vocabulary is.  When he reads to her in class he doesn't stop at a word he doesn't know he just offers up about six other french words with the same first letter - "Manque?  mange?  marche? magazin?  motocyclette?  marsupilami?"  It might not be the word she's looking for, but it cracks her up every time because he clearly has it all in there! And Will...really, he's had a great year socially and seems to have been mostly unfazed by the academic side of things.  He's put his head down and plowed through it all. 

But its still a relief to get to the last day.  I can't tell you how sick I am of making lunches.  I did a little dance this morning because its Pizza Lunch.  Thanks to class parties, I didn't even have to think of snack.  Homework has been finished since last week, so we haven't had to go through our usually routine of nagging and crying (all me) to get things done every night.  I haven't had to shove dictee practice down their throats every morning for two weeks.  Bliss. 

And now we have a whole summer ahead of us!  I won't be rushing everyone out the door in the mornings (always harping on at William to "get a MOVE ON!" He's deaf, it seems, to the warnings that "we're leaving in 10, 5, 2 minutes so get ready"), I won't be searching for homework books and agendas to sign, or scrounging through all our coat pockets to come up with 75¢ x 2 for milk. I won't be gritting my teeth at early morning traffic or muttering under my breath as I stomp back in the house because library books were forgotten, again. 

Instead I plan to be breathing deeply and calmly, to be zen in all my interactions with the kids, to appreciate their joyful presence.  Until tomorrow at least.  Then I'll start the countdown to September. 

Little Sisters, Or The Tale Of The Freaky Easter Bunny

Ummmm....I might have overreacted tonight.  

I might have regressed to my 7 year old little sister self. 

I might have had a massive tantrum that made my eldest son cry.

Yeah.  Once a little sister, always a little sister.

~~~~~

Let me explain.  When I was a kid, my brother used to terrorize me by messing with my imagination.  We would be swimming at a pool and he'd take me down to the deep end and then suddenly yell "SHARK!" and swim away from me as fast as he could, leaving me hyperventilating in the deep end.  Or he would tell me that the bad guys from movies we'd watched were hiding from me in my closet.  To this day, I can't sleep with any closet doors open.  In case evil is lurking and watching.  

So today, Elly began expressing her fears relating to the Easter bunny ("I nuh-vuss, mummy"). Apparently the Easter bunny had visited her school last night and left treats for all the kids in her class.  The thought that some ninja nighttime rodent was sneaking around her school totally freaked my girl out.  The teachers said she was incredibly jumpy and looking behind her constantly.  This Easter Bunny dude is clearly very sketchy in Elly's mind and she did not want him popping out and surprising her, no matter how many delicious treats he might have with him.  

All the way home, Elly wanted to know where the bunny was, if it was at our house and where he would be next.  She crept into the house, bug-eyed and twitchy.  I had to hold her hand and show her there were no rabbits lurking.  We went to volunteer at the boys' school in the afternoon and she refused to sit with her back to the door in case he came through.   I tried to tell her he wasn't coming anywhere near our house, that he was a shy guy and only came when no people were around but nothing doing.  Freaky chocolate carrying bunnies!  You've traumatized my baby!

Anyway....this continued on and off all day.  We had many discussions about said rabbit's whereabouts.  Finally it was time to tidy up toys and get ready for bed.  I asked Elly to carry her bag of toys to the basement and she balked.  I mean, she generally does that anyway when it comes to cleaning, but tonight she flat out refused.  "Da Eastuh Bunny...." she muttered.  

"Boys, could you please take your sister down the stairs?  She's frightened that the Easter Bunny might be down there, but of course he's not.  Go down with her please and hold her hand," I said.

So the three of them started down the stairs.  "Come ON, El," Owen muttered.  "Or the Easter Bunny is going to get you." Cue whimpering.

"NO!  We do NOT say that!" I yelled from the other room.  "Elliot, you're fine.  The Easter Bunny IS NOT going to get you and he's not downstairs.  Its fine.  Boys, enough.  Help her down the stairs already!"  Clearly I should have gone down myself.  When will I ever learn that delegating does not work well for me?

They get a bit further down the stairs and then suddenly I hear William shout "RUN!" and poor Elly's terrified screams as those little buggers abandon her down at the bottom of the stairs.  As I race down screaming at them to stay with her, she stumbles and trips and screams her way up to them.  You should have seen her little face.  She was so pale and she was actually shaking.  

 

I took one look at her and all those times David scared the pants off of me came flooding back.  And, well, I just completely lost it.  I yelled at William, let me tell you.  I really gave it to him.  I told him what an awful trick that was to play on someone and I said it had been his job to keep her safe and he had failed miserably.  I said, gulp, that he was behaving like a "horrible brother".  And he cried.  I made him cry.  "You hurt my feelings!" he yelled back at me. 

Oh dear.  Deep breaths everyone.

So we went upstairs and sat in Elly's room and I apologised for making him cry, but I also explained why I was upset.  How Uncle David used to play that kind of game with me and how much it always scared me.  How it wasn't nice to run away from someone who was trusting you to keep them safe.  And that that was their job as big brothers, to keep their one and only sister safe.  Hugs all round, bedtime stories, cuddles and then lights out.

But as I kissed Elly goodnight, she said in a little voice.  "I don't yike da Eastuh Bunny, mumma".  And I sighed, paused and said, "Honey?  Can I tell you something?  He's not real.  Its the mummies and daddies who put the chocolate out for the kids.  Okay?  So don't worry, sweetie.  There's no bunny.  Okay?"  

"Its just da mummies and daddies?"

'Yes, lovely.  Goodnight."

Sigh from the bed.  "Night, mumma"

I have no idea how I'll explain that there's no such thing as the Easter Bunny to the boys tomorrow, but I figure I'll deal with that rabbit when we get to it.

~~~~~

I should now add that I love my big brother dearly and despite going through a "Scare Sister Shitless" phase, he quickly grew out of it, we moved on and he took on the role of Bodyguard and Defender of Sister with great gusto.  I'll never forget the day that 14 year old me got spat on by a bunch of stupid boys at a bus stop and when I came home in tears, Dave tore out of the house and drove down there to pulverise them to smithereens.  Luckily for those jerks, he didn't find them.  

I'm not entirely sure how many boys from his school heard his 'Touch my sister and you die" speech, but I'd like to think it explains why I didn't date until my late teens (and had absolutely nothing to do with my braces, my hair or my ridiculously awkward self).  

And I'm pretty sure that if there ever really WAS a shark in the pool or a bishop in my closet (you know, the evil bishop of Aquila from Ladyhawke, Oscar-nominated movie from 1985 that scared me silly?  No?  Oh.  Maybe it was just me then), David would have pulverized them to smithereens too. 

She's Three

She's three.  Elly is three today. 

Do you remember when I posted the day before she was born?  How excited we all were that this little being was finally going to be born? It feels like yesterday and also a lifetime ago.  She's always been with us, it seems. 

~~~~

Oh Elliot. Three?  How are you growing up so quickly?

What can we say about you on your birthday that will do you justice.  You're our sunshine.  You're our stormy night.  You're our dramatic flair and our quiet cuddle.  You make us laugh with your craziness and shake our heads and shrug our shoulders at your definitive will.  Without you this family would be incomplete. 

Today, at three, you're tall and graceful and full of energy.  You bounce and run and dance and sing your way through the day.  You've recently discovered that you can annoy your big brothers simply by poking them when they try to do their homework.  As a little sister myself, I have to say "well done".  As a mother trying to get homework done so I can set the table for dinner...well its another story entirely. 

You take after your me, you know - Chatty Cathys, the two of us.  You never seem to stop talking.  I'm not in the least bit worried about your social skills, that's for sure.  At the very least, you and your "best fwiend Cayeb" will keep each other company til the end of days...you're like an old married couple, you two.  Can't live with each other, can't live without, it would seem.

 There's definitely a confidence that comes with three.  Maybe its the toilet training now under your belt (so to speak), or the fact that you're at preschool and starting to learn the alphabet.  Maybe its the independence you're starting to actively seek, washing your hands on your own, dressing yourself with such interesting flair... whatever it is, you've got it covered and you're clearly going places.  We know not to stand in your way.  Instead, we just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Love you, sweet girl.  Happy Birthday from all of us.

Short But Sweet

Some things I don't want to forget.....

The way Elly says "thlum" instead of "thumb" and "paul" for "small".  "Dese mittens are too paul for my thlumb, mama!"

Sitting at the library and watching the big brothers walk away from me as they hold Elly's hands, taking her to the water fountain on their own.  Their gentleness and protectiveness made my heart grow about three sizes.

Listening to William sobbing his heart out after Mark finished the made-up-on-the-fly knight's story he had been telling the boys every night for a month.  He just didn't want the adventures of Sir Frederick and the Dark Knight to end apparently.  He's been promised a sequel though.

Owen's random hug, kiss or I Love You, Mummy attacks.  Nothing beats a quick fierce hug from a small boy.

They might drive me crazy on a daily, sometimes hourly basis.  I might want to pull my hair out at my daughter's screeching or my sons' wrestling matches.  But goshdarnnit!  I love these three kids!

Happy New Year 2013!

We said goodbye to 2012 last night and welcomed 2013 in a rather casual, laid back style:  a dinner party with friends at the cottage.  I think it was a great start to the new year - just hanging out with friends, taking our time eating a simple, but delicious steak dinner, all the kids happily playing downstairs until we somehow managed to corral them into bed without too much fuss.  And despite all our yawning, the adults held it together until midnight, at which time we toasted the new year with water!  You know you're an adult when...But we'd simply had enough to drink, were ready for bed and didn't want to waste a bottle of champagne.  We woke up to a gorgeous, sunny day, and no one was moaning about hangovers.  Definitely the right way for us to greet the year ahead.

Of course, you can't get to New Year's Eve without feeling a little contemplative about the year you're leaving behind. We talked a bit about personal highlights of 2012, and it got me thinking.  Without a doubt, running the Niagara Falls Half Marathon with my mum, my brother, my sister-in-law/BFF Karen, my step-sister Sophie and my dear friend Elaine the day after my mum's 60th birthday was the highlight of my year.  If I ever need to focus on a happy memory, I will more than likely picture running along the Niagara Parkway on a beautiful, sunny, crisp October morning, watching my mother put her heart and soul (and sweat) into fulfilling a dream.  After 10km, every single kilometre she completed was the furthest she had ever run in her life, and was therefore an incredible victory.  Seeing Sophie (who we'd told to run ahead and do her own race, she'd trained so hard!) coming back for us towards the last four km, so she could finish the race with us still brings a smile to my face.  And crossing the line all together?  Just perfect.

Staying with the running theme, I've been very lucky to have two fantastic running partners this year.  In Toronto, my friend Lisa keeps me motivated and gets me out the door, even on days when I really just feel like hiding out.  She and I just seem to have the perfect running chemistry which makes the crappy days feel doable and the really great days feel like Olympic medals are waiting for us at the end.  We live near Lake Ontario and have had some beautiful runs along the water, but I think we've got one particular route along a forested ravine that feeds our souls and recharges our batteries.  I'm really looking forward to getting back to Toronto and starting our running routine again.

My other running partner is my sister-in-law Karen.  She lives in Ottawa, so we don't get to run together all that often, but when we do its just plain fun.  We've been friends since we were nine, and making each other laugh for that long too.  And when I say laugh, I mean the whole snorting through your nose, choking back the tears, bent double with your hands on your knees kind of laughing.  So imagine the two of us running along doing that.  Its hard to stick to your pace when you're laughing that hard.  But the other thing I love about running with Karen is that she's just the most encouraging person in the world.  We'll be going along in the blazing sun or be swarmed by deer flies, or chugging up some stupid hill at the very end of our run at the cottage and she'll just be cheering me on the whole way - "We can do it!  We're doing SO AWESOME! Almost there!  Good for us! We ROCK!" and instead of wanting to push her into the bushes like I would with anyone else, I actually do feel motivated and I DO make it up that hill, dagnammit!  She's the best.  My favourite run with her this year, apart from the half marathon, was our 18km training run up at the cottage on the Thanksgiving weekend.  It was another sunny, cold day and we had a fantastic run.  And now, every time we drive to the cottage, we go along the same route and I think of the two of us running along in the sunshine, chatting and laughing (and occasionally complaining too) and I think "Wow!  We ran a long freakin' way!" and it makes me think of how awesome we are and how much we rock.

The best part about running up at the cottage is being able to jump in the lake when you're finished.  Here's Karen in fine form after one of our summer runs.

2012 was also the year that I really got into yoga.  I'm so fortunate to have Deitre Courchesne as a neighbour and a dear friend.  She comes to my house three times a week to teach me and two friends (and now my husband too!) yoga and I don't quite know how I managed without her before.  When Deitre comes over, I just immediately feel happy.  She's one of those people who makes me feel better instantly.  She's calming and soothing, but she's also funny and fascinating.  She has the best stories ever.  And I get to hang out with her every week!  Yoga, like running, is much appreciated "me time" that allows me to calm down whilst strengthening and stretching my muscles.  I'm so glad I started and I love what its doing to my body.  I feel like I have a lot more to learn, but it never feels like a chore, so I look forward to each new lesson with Deitre.  Plus its the perfect excuse to fuel my obsession with lululemon gear.

As for the kids, this past year has been a mixed bag, but I'm only focusing on highlights today.  The moaning and groaning about schooling and homework and all my usual parenting anxieties can wait for another post!

We've had some really great successes.  I've been thrilled at how far the boys have come with their swimming lessons and seeing them playing in the water at the cottage this summer was fantastic, what I'd always hoped it would be for them.  Elly also takes lessons and I'm relieved that she's enjoying them and looking forward to going.  When we first started lessons with her, it wasn't a huge hit. So to see her wanting to duck her head under, or open her eyes and kick her legs like mad is great.  I hope she follows in her brothers' footsteps and becomes a little fishy in the water too.  

Training wheels came off the boys' bikes this spring, which was a huge deal.  They really took to bike riding and apart from a few nasty falls when they weren't watching where they were going, we had a lot of fun.  That ravine run I mentioned earlier?  Its actually the route the kids and I took to get home from school on their bikes about once a week. I'd drop their bikes off at school in the morning, then when it came time to pick them up, Elly would go into the bike seat behind me, we'd race up to school and then take our time riding home with the guys, stopping for a snack next to a picturesque waterfall.  I think it was always the highlight of their week.  Maybe mine too.

Mark and I realised the boys were definitely growing up when they decided a few weeks ago that they could follow the instructions that came with all their lego and build things on their own.  Before this momentous decision, it was always up to Mark to make exactly what was on the box, and then Will and Owen would take it apart and build other things of their own design (which we also thought was great, of course).  Its lead to a pretty great Christmas, actually, with the boys spending more time in quiet building sessions.  That is, until we hear a frustrated scream because something isn't fitting properly or a particular piece can't be found!

I love this photo of them.  I think they're looking at a book or Will's camera.  Doesn't matter.  Its just so very them.  

As for Elly, well, her highlights for 2012 are pretty typical of a two year old, but the one that makes me happiest right now is that in the fall she decided it was time to potty train herself and did just that.  She woke up one morning, announced she wanted to pee on the toilet and then went to get her underwear.  We haven't really looked back since!  Of course, there's the occasional accident, but overall, I'm mighty impressed with her.  SO much easier than trying to potty train twin boys, let me tell you!   The thought that we are on our way to being a diaper-free home is very exciting.  Once she's out of pullups for naps and nighttime, I will be a very happy mama.  Because after nearly seven years of diapers, I won't miss them one little bit.  And neither will our bank account!

And I don't want to jinx it, but, well, the sleeping thing is coming along nicely too.  I'm quite anxious as I type this.  Because I seem to recall blogging jubilantly about a certain Mademoiselle sleeping through the night and then it turned around and bit me in the butt.  Because it stopped.  And got worse.  We went from sleeping through the night to a whole summer and fall of most decidedly NOT sleeping through the night.  However...recently, there have been signs that perhaps I will once again join the world of the living, the realm of the rested, non sleep-deprived souls who can actually hold a conversation.  So I really hope I'm not tempting fate here by saying this.  But my optimism just can't hold me back and I have to think positively - I will sleep for long stretches of the night again! I won't have to get out of my cosy warm bed and stomp into Elly's room to fix her blanket which was just fine there's nothing wrong with your blanket just go back to sleep for goodness sake!

And this is my favorite video of 2012.  I've watched it a million times and I never get tired of it (if for some reason, you can't get it to work, email me and I'll send it to you.  Its worth it.)

I think there are a few more highlights I'd love to write about, like my obsession with Pinterest and how much fun I've had being creative thanks to some of the inspiring content I've found there; or the awesome holiday we had up at the cottage with our friends Gillian and Jonathan and their two children (but all of my photos are on the computer at home and I can't do the two weeks we spent together justice without including the photos of the three boys playing together or the video of wee Andrea and Elly in the water together, so it will have to wait); or the beautiful baby boys my friends has this year - Mikey, Henry, Benjamin, Jad, you boys are lucky to have such incredible mothers and I'm so glad I'm friends with them (mostly because it means I get to come over and cuddle you guys!), and the babies that are to come! I should definitely write a whole post about my incredibly patient and hardworking husband who's had a pretty good year himself, and I most definitely should write about all my friends, who I love dearly and who keep me sane.  BUT I won't.  Because its already almost midnight and if I keep writing I'll never finish this and I won't post it and thats not a very good way to start the new year, now is it?

So on that note, I will bid you good night and a very Happy New Year.  I hope 2013 is going to give me plenty of blog fodder to regale you with.

Merry Christmas!

My iPad is finally recharged after a winter blackout that lasted 3 full days.  Now that I've finished playing Pioneer Woman and can stop hauling buckets full of snow into the house for melting on the wood stove, I'm ready to wish you all very Merry Christmas with our annual Christmas card, designed by my blogger buddy Brazenlilly.

May you all have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!  

Now We Are Six

When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five,
I was just alive.
But now I am Six,
I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever. 

                         - A.A. Milne 

I love that poem, it was always one of my favorites when I was a child.  As I sat down to write this birthday message to you, Will and Owen, it popped into my head and of course I had to include it, its totally you!  You ARE as clever as clever, aren't you?  At least you seem to think so these days!  

Six.  Hoooooo-boy!  That sounds pretty old to me.  We're entering big kid territory here, aren't we?  Its pretty amazing to see what you've accomplished this past year and just how very big you've become.  

You've lost teeth,

 

dabbled in new sports,

become more and more curious about the world around you, loving nothing more than to get right into everything to understand how it works.  Especially if it involves getting dirty and if you can convince your friends, like Cooper, to join in!

You're starting to master a new language in French Immersion, and although I know there are days when this whole full day and then homework thing totally sucks for you, I'm proud of the way you stick to it (once the temper tantrums subside and I get some snack into you).  Its hard work, but you're both doing such a good job.  I hope you're equally proud of yourselves and will appreciate your efforts once you're older.  For now, bravo et continuent, mes petits!

 I LOVE how much you're beginning to love books.  Of course your dad and I are total bookworms, so we really hope you'll fall in love with reading as much as we have, and I think you might be on your way.  If you're curious about something, you often ask if we can stop by the library to get as many books out on that subject as possible.  So far we've read about dinosaurs, space, knights and castles and, uh, Captain Underpants.  But seeing you lying on your tummies on the sofa, slowly turning the pages of a book...it warms my heart, kiddos! 

You guys spend a lot of time together.  Although you're in different classes at school, you share a bedroom and are involved in all the same after school activities.  I don't know what it feels like to be a twin, but I do love watching the happy moments you spend together.  Listening to you both concocting plans to build a rocket ship from old boxes, save your sister from alien zombies, attack your sister because she's the alien zombie... its really special and fun.  You love each others' imagination and can be so supportive of each other!  At night I hear you chatting away in the dark, talking over what's happened at school, who you should play with tomorrow, what to do about your alien zombie sister.  Sometimes I go upstairs only to find you both asleep in the same bed, your blond heads touching like they used to when you were babies.  Melts a mummy's heart!

Of course, it doesn't always go quite so smoothly.  You are very, very physical with each other this year, and we've had a lot of tears when one or both of you gets a little too rough.  But I'm trying to let you two sort it out yourselves, figure out how to play nicely, to share, to give each other room to breathe a bit.  Thank goodness we have a house with multiple floors so I can tell Will to go upstairs, Owen to go down to the basement and Elly can run up and down between the two of you to keep you both company!  

But ultimately, it seems that you're relationship with each other is just getting stronger and stronger.  When you're in the right frame of mind, you form quite the team.  You'll be unstoppable together, guys!

We've had our ups and downs this year, for sure.  Going into Grade One has been a difficult journey, but I can see that we're now sailing into smoother waters, and I think we're beginning to find a way to communicate with each other that doesn't solely involve yelling.  I know you're trying, and that means a lot to me.

Your little sister, in case you couldn't tell, adores you both and misses you when you're at school without her.  She reminds me constantly that we need to go pick up "Oh-en an' Wi-yem".  I know she drives you crazy when she messes up your stuff, or when she punches you (now where did she learn that?!), that you often get fed up with her yelling at you instead of just using her indoor voice, but really, I know you love her too.  I see you include her in games, agree to be her baby so she can boss you around and proudly introduce her to your friends in the school yard.  Thanks for looking out for her, guys.  That means a lot to me too. 

Gosh, six, eh? Yes, its definitely scary to see how quickly you're growing up, but man, am I ever impressed with the way you're doing it.  Love you, my lambies, and I hope you know it. 

Happy Birthday, handsome boys.