Toddler life November 22, 2007

I love Sweetpea. She’s cute, she’s funny, she smells good, and she mimics me. It’s all pretty cool.

Sometimes, though…I tell you.

Tonight, we missed out on going to Beavers with the guys because of a pair of shoes. Sweetpea wanted to wear her “These are pretty but much too big so I can’t walk in them” green shoes and Mom said no. Once I decided that an evening out of the house wasn’t worth the hassle, she switched it up to “I want it mine car! Go Beavers!” Fun.

Once things calmed down, she requested a ride on my shoulders. Sure thing. Once up there, she insisted on drinking a cup of apple juice. While sitting on my shoulders.

When it was time for bedtime snack, she skipped the regular cereal and fruit stage and went right to insisting on cake. My reply that we had none only made things worse.

Seriously, I don’t know about her sometimes. She comes up with these ideas and these phrases and I have no idea what’s going on in her little brain.

The other afternoon for example, she was throwing around the ceramic baby Jesus from the nativity scene. When I told her to go put it back she replied with “No. I LOVE Jesus”.

On the weekend, she saw me gluing down a scrapbook page and spend 15 minutes straight wailing “I want it mine goo-ooo!”. It doesn’t look nearly as amusing in writing as it sounded in person, mainly because I can’t adequately explain the repetitive two-tone “goo-oo” sound that still makes me giggle.

This evening, she asked who was signing on the radio. When I answered that it was Amanda Marshall, she insisted I was wrong because it was a woman and not a man. She promptly changed the name to Panda Marshall and was quite happy with that.

There really are no dull moments around here with Sweetpea on the loose. Every day she proves my theory that toddlers are people like the rest of us, only smaller. And faster. And insane. And indestructible. And unpredictable. But otherwise just like adults.

Homeschooly update November 14, 2007

Alright, I will succumb to the peer pressure. Or spousal pressure I suppose.

I’d started out this entry meaning to give an update on what’s been going on in my life, and somehow a rambling post about homeschooling came out. It’s fitting, I suppose, as homeschooling is a large focus of my life (and time!) these days. So, rather than an update about all my activities, here is an update on our life as homeschoolers:

I started out the year thinking we’d go with a semi-structured approach to homeschooling, having a morning routine that included all of our book work as well as chores. A couple of weeks into it I felt that things weren’t really that interesting and Button was feeling less than enthusiastic about his work. I experimented with different scheduling for a few weeks until I came to the conclusion which I’d been to intimidated to realize before then: we’re unschoolers. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the term, unschooling is also called delight-driven learning and the basic idea is that real learning takes place when a child’s interests inspire them to learn about something. Each unschooler you ask will likely have a slightly different definition of what unschooling looks like to them, and my interpretation is that I provide Button and Sweetpea with materials and experiences which will likely facilitate their learning. I follow their leads, making suggestions, offering help, and learning beside them.

Some days we read for hours, either fiction (Charlotte’s Web and Alice in Wonderland have been our latest) or non-fiction (thank you giant stack of Usborne reference books!). Some days the kids build and create with materials ranging from giant cardboard boxes to clay (which you apparently need to bake at the right temperature if you don’t want to fill your house with smoke…). We’ve done some science experiments, done some workbooks, and played board games. We bake, we do laundry, we paint, and we sing songs.We’ve spent many hours outside playing and investigating and enjoying this amazing fall weather we’ve been blessed with this year. We’ve also taken part in a football clinic and a tour of a pottery studio, and we’ll be taking part in a weaving clinic next month.

There are many treasures in homeschooling that I hadn’t predicted and this experience is so rewarding. It’s satisfying to watch my children learning and growing and I appreciate that I get to enjoy so many more hours of this than I would if Button were in school all day. Our pace of life has slowed significantly as I’m learning to do what is in our family’s best interest.

My only regret so far is that we didn’t make the switch from public school last year as we’d considered, but it’s not something I dwell on. Sometimes I struggle with finding time for myself, especially since Sweetpea is at that stage right now where if she naps she tends to stay up until 10 pm, but being involved in LLL, Usborne books, and a few other things gives me a reason to get out of the house alone. And I of course periodically have those moments of “What in the world was I thinking? I’m going to mess up my kids!” but I’ve thankfully got a fantastic support system which helps me to get back to a place where I can realize that I’m doing the right thing.

So..yeah. That’s what’s been going on with me. What’s been going on with all of you?

Bloggy, my bloggy October 11, 2007

Oh my blog, I’ve kind of ditched you.
This fall my entries have been quite few.
Those kids of mine always on the go
They keep me on my toes you know.
The kitchen always looks like it should be swept
And I never seem to feel like I’ve slept.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m having a blast
And I know these days just won’t last.
But the crafts, the books, the parks, and the dog
They make it hard to update my blog!

Oh Happy Day! August 22, 2007

My poor neglected blog. *sigh* You’d almost think it was summer vacation or something.

So, today is our third wedding anniversary. Yup, the years are just rolling on by. It seemed like the day would be a fairly plain Jane kind of event but I was pleasantly surprised.

The kids and I spent a quiet morning at home getting some cleaning done and I lamented the fact that I hadn’t worked on Bear’s anniversary gift (a small scrapbook of our relationship) or even written a card for that matter. At lunchtime I took the kids out to my parents’ house and once Sweetpea was asleep I made a hasty retreat to South Edmonton common.

The real fun began when I got to spend $50 at Old Navy and $25 at Reitman’s without spending a dime. The Old Navy gift cards were from an award Bear had won at work and the other ones were a Christmas gift from the in-laws. It pays to forget about your gifts for 8 months because it’s like Christmas all over again!

I left the stores with a pair of jeans, three tank tops, a button-up blouse, and a knit shirt. Not a bad haul for $75, thanks to the discount racks!

After shopping I hit Spasation where I used yet another gift card (thanks again Bob and Peggy!) to get my hair cut. I got chewed out a bit by the hairdresser for going so long between trims and she took a fair bit off the ends since they were so wrecked. My hair feels very short now that it’s not to my waist! It looks nice though so I won’t complain too much.

My next stop was to pick Bear up from work. We headed home to get ready for dinner and I got to show him all my new clothing. I got all dressed up and we headed out for dinner.

Dinner. Yum! Yet *another* gift card (from my parents this time) purchased us two buffet dinners at Taste of India, our new favourite restaurant. (We’ve considered calling it “our” restaurant but the past two joints which have been dubbed such have ceased to exist so we’re hoping not to jinx this one.) Between the melt-in-your-mouth butter chicken and the divine sweets we were thoroughly sated.

To top off all these pleasant dining and retail experiences, we’ve had some fantastic news today.

First off, my parents’ anniversary gift is to forgive the $20 000 loan we took out from them in order to buy our house. Yup. Bear almost fell over when we found out. This frees us up from the monthly payments we’d been making and takes an enormous amount of stress off of us. Let’s hear it for early inheritance!!

Next, I found out that I will indeed be working at an Usborne table on Friday at a literacy-type fair. And to make the deal even sweeter two friends are also going to have a table set up to promote their business. So now not only do I get to earn some extra bucks and get some leads for future shows, I get to hang out with friends for the afternoon!

All in all today has been a fantastic sort of day. It’s certainly nowhere near the very joyous day of thee years ago, but it’s a smaller echo of the day-long happiness. It’s days like these that remind me of how fun and uplifting life can be.

Le sigh July 17, 2007

It’s one of those days. I feel like a bad Mommy and anyone who had been in my house today would agree.

Button’s bored. Sweetpea won’t sleep despite hours of trying to convince her to. The house is a mess. It’s very very hot. I need to pack for Vancouver. I’m on phones today. I oopsed on an Usborne order and I need to sort it out. I’m drowning.

I’ve been a total jerk to the kids and I know it. I hate it.

They’re gone to the mall with Grandma right now, thank goodness. Maybe her niceness will make up for my grumpiness.

July?? July 2, 2007

Have you ever had one of those months where you wonder where the days have gone? Yeah, I’m having that kind of month and it’s only July 2.

Looking at my calendar, I’ve realized just how busy this month is going to be. I’ve got a few friends I’m booking playdates/coffee/scrapbooking dates with. Throw in a week-long camp for Button at my old church and there go another five days. I’m also planning to have my garage sale in a couple of weeks, which will require a number of prep days as well as three or four days of sitting by the driveway. LLL will take up another chunk of time with a meeting to plan and lead as well as three phone days. I’m hosting an Usborne books party at my house and I’ll be attending my first info evening for consultants next week.

Then there’s the out of town stuff. My parents are hoping to take Button camping for a few nights (this thankfully overlaps with my LLL meeting as well as my Usborne party!). We’re also fleshing out our plans to visit with family in Vancouver for a week and a half or so.

As Bear and I looked at the calendar yesterday, I pointed out how nothing is going on next Saturday. He took my calendar pen and wrote “NOTHING” on that square and told me in a very firm tone that he’s serious. I’ve been told.

The end is near! June 11, 2007

There are 15 days of school left.

I’m excited like you wouldn’t believe. Every morning when we struggle to get Button out the door at 7:30 to catch the bus, Bear and I share a mini countdown moment. “18 more mornings of this.” The end won’t come fast enough.

Besides the morning crunch, there are a number of other reasons I’m excited about summer break. Button needs a vacation and it’s showing. My view of school has also been shifting over the past number of months since we decided to homeschool in the fall and so many things now stand out that I never focused on before. Why does Button have to do page after page of math questions for homework when he’s moved so far beyond the material they’re covering? Is it really all that important that he completes every shred of homework when the sun is shining so beautifully?

On the positive side of things, I’m anticipating homeschooling with great excitement. I’ve been doing a lot more reading lately and I’m getting a better idea all the time of how I’d like to approach things. I’ve also been meeting more homeschooling families through park days and other get-togethers and each time I hear about other families’ successes I feel reaffirmed in our decision.

This weekend I went to a garage sale that was being put on by a homeschooling family who needed to thin out their shelves. I picked up a nice big stack of books for $10 and the kids have been acting like it’s Christmas. I got some math workbooks, some reading books, a book on maps, a book on weather, and some foam calendars among other things. Button found a math book that’s geared for the grade four level and he was excited about challenging himself. He completed some activities on using multiples (with help from his Mom who really had to think hard) and then went on to do some pages from the Bible Fun Pad. Yup, mazes for Moses and Pharaoh connect-the-dots.

We sent in our registration to our new school board last week and I’m waiting quite anxiously to hear back from them. The whole plan of homeschooling has been floating around in our home for quite some time and making a concrete step like registering with a school board adds a definite touch of reality to it.

I need to actually take all these ideas I have and put them on paper so I can create a plan to review with a facilitator. I need to overhaul the office so I can properly organize the growing piles of homeschooling materials. I need to take a deep breath and remind myself that things don’t have to be perfect come September.

Sometimes it’s the little things May 23, 2007

This morning, though only 3 hours old, has had a number of frustrations. We got a late start to the morning, I almost got sideswiped by a dumb driver, and Sweetpea wouldn’t stay in the cart at the grocery store.

After unloading my groceries in the car, though, the whole tone of my morning changed. An elderly man who was headed in the opposite direction with a cart of his own offered to return my cart for me. I’m not sure if he was prompted to perform the kind deed because it was the gentlemanly thing to do or if he was taking pity on me since I was pushing the cart with one hand and toting Sweetpea around with the other.

Whatever his reasons, it made me happy. Small moments of kindness from strangers are very touching, and I’m a total sucker for chivalrous acts. It’s amazing how one small gesture can have such an effect.

On a totally different note, I got too close to the patchouli oil when I was sniffing it and I got some on my nose. Now the whole world smells like patchouli to me.

What the hell?? May 19, 2007

So, Button came home from school today yet with another brochure about a summer camp. I think this is the fifth one so far. While I think some of them look kind of nifty (especially the soccer one) I haven’t looked into them much so far.

The one today, however, was rather exceptional. There was the run-of-the-mill “drop off your kids each morning for a week and we’ll do fun stuff” as well as a “week at the beach” camp. As I looked at the beach one, I saw that the campers are to be dropped off on Monday morning and picked up on Friday night. They’re to head out to Alberta Beach and spend the nights in the dorm-type facilities. Next, I noticed the camp is open to children who are currently in grades 1 through 6.

Who in their right mind would send a six-year-old off with strangers for FOUR NIGHTS??! Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable sending Button on any type of overnight camp without a parent there, but I’m willing to see that there are other kids his age who would be up for one night. But four nights? Heck no.

I’m totally blown away by how many camps and activities there are for kids during the summer months, most of which have early drop offs and late pickups so children can be kept occupied for up to 11 hours each day.

I look forward to spending the summer months with my kids doing fun summer things. There are beaches, playgrounds, the back yard, hiking trails, and campgrounds which are ours for the visiting.

When I look back on my childhood summer vacations, my memories are made up of eating popsicles in the backyard with the neighbor kids, building sandcastles at the beach with my brother, going camping with my family, and so much more. The days ran into each other and I delighted in not even knowing which day of the week it was.

That’s the stuff summer is made up of, not getting out the door at 6:30 each day to get to camp or spending a week away from home at the age of 6. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

Um… May 15, 2007

There are moments of parenting which leave me speechless. One of them just passed when Button ran across the house. He was chasing Sweetpea with a toy ark yelling “Look out! Noah’s coming for you!!!”

As I wrote this, I heard him saying “But that was our only chicken!”. *snort*