Metaphors

So Lauren asked us why if Adam and Eve (or people) were created on the 7th day, how do they know the exact order God did things in the first 6 days.

We explained that the book of Genesis is a story written by people who were guessing at how God made the world, and that one day probably wasn't one day as we know it, it might actually represent 1000 days, we really didn't know. 

She said "oh, so its like a metaphor?" 

If this is the kind of question and thinking I am getting at age 8. what is going to happen when she is 16?


She also asked why there were no dinosaurs in the bible...lol!

Anatomy 101

Carter informed me, loudly, at Swiss Chalet the other day that boys have penises and girls don't. 
He followed it with "I'm a boy and I have a penis.  You're not a boy, mommy, you have angina".

I didn't know I had a heart condition.
Maybe he'll be a doctor....

BEST DAY EVER!!!!

So Saturday night, with a drive back to North Bay the next day looming ahead...3 of my children had rough nights, keeping mommy awake until 5:00 am.  I swear their little internal clocks know that mommy needs her sleep and yet choose to ignore this. Sunday monring I slept in, getting some much needed sleep for the drive, though that had us leaving later than I had hoped.  I drove with my parents to London, where we stopped for lunch together, then I went on my way home to North Bay. 

Everything was going along just fine until about Gravenhurst.  Just before Gravenhurst, a fellow driver, who must have missed the question on the driver's exam about what the lines in the middle of the road are for, started to cross the center line into my lane.   To avoid potential collision I moved over a touch, hitting a giant pothole.  I mean GIGANTIC pothole.  I swear the only reason  I didn't get swallowed by said pothole is because I bounced off the roof of the last car that hit said pothole and got swallowed whole.  This was quite a jolt, but everything seemed to be fine so I kept driving.  BIG, BIG Mistake!   15 minutes later, on the other side of Gravenhurst I blew a tire.  It is at this point, I should mention David is not with me!   He is in North Bay.  I gude the van to the side of the road.  Get out and check out the situation.  Yep...very flat tire.  I am now by myself, with 4 children, on the side of Highway 11 on a Sunday at dinner hour. 
I take a moment to decide what to do.  I think- surely I can change my tire.  I know how.  I start to go through the process in my head.  Where is the spare? Under our van held on by a wire.  Where are the tools?  In a compartment accessed through the trunk.  How do I lower the tire?  I don't know...  I look it up in the owner's manual.  Can't find how to lower tire, what I do find, however, are two instructions that concern me.  1. Only change tires on a flat surface.  I get out of the van.  I take a look at the ground...  I am on the side of the road, it is not a flat surface, in fact, it was a rather severe incline.
2.  Take all people out of the vehicle, as sudden movements by occupants can cause the van to roll off the jack.  Do I trust my 4 kids under the age of 8 to stay still while I deal with this?  Do I trust them to stay safely at the side of a major highway while I do this?  The answer to both of these questions is a resounding NO!!!!  Lauren hasn't had a still moment in her life, and Carter has climbed from his seat to the front seat 5 times since I pulled over.  There is no way this is going to end well, if I attempt the tire change myself.
So, I call David and ask him to call me a tow truck. 
The towing company calls me to find out exactly where I am on the highway.  I don't know.  I know that I am between Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, going northbound on Highway 11.  Other than that nothing.  Damn, why did listening to Meet the Robinson's playing on the DVD player have to be so intriguing.  Maybe I would have noticed the name of that last turn off!!!  The towing company chrages by the kilometre out on the highway.  I need to figure this out.  I don't want them to have to look for me.  Lucky for me, after 10 minutes of describing EVERYTHING in the surrounding area the lady on the phone figures out exactly where I am. 
It is at this point Carter tells me he has to pee.  I pull him out of the van, let him do his thing on the side of the road, then strap him back in.  He then throws up, all over.  Nice.  I clean him up as best I can and get him strapped back in. 
I then get into the van to wait patiently for the tow truck. 
Lauren, this whole time, has been giving me a commentary about what is happening in the van, on the highway and in the movie she is watching.  She is also throwing out some very useful advice on how I can deal with the situation- like 'mommy, maybe you should get the tire fixed'.  I can't handle it any more (I know, mother of the year will not be mine again this year) so I tell her to please be quiet and just watch the movie. 
The tow truck arrives.  Lauren announces she has to pee.  I tell her she has to hold it.
I have to unload the back of my van so the guy can get to the tools to lower my spare.  Forgive me, maybe they are unique to each vehicle, but I thought to myself...isn't this why I called you?  Don't you have the tools for this???  Anyway, with my luggage strewn on the side of the highway, he begins the process.  The guy lowers the wire, but no spare comes down- the spare is stuck.  He crawls under my van and has to work on it for 10 minutes to get it loose.  Finally.  He gets the jack, and tools he needs from his truck, at least he brought something!  Then he starts working on removing the tire.    Apparently the lugs were too tight and he has trouble getting them off.  I will admit, all this makes me feel better about not attempting it myself, because up to this point I was feeling like kind of whimp for not changing my own tire.  He gets it done. 
Just as I am re-packing the van, Julie tells me she has to go to the bathroom.  I tell her to hold it.  She says she can't.  I say, please- just 10 minutes and we will be at a bathroom.  She says ok.  She lied.  She is also sick and has diarhea.  So now, I am at the side of highway 11, by myself with a spare tire on, a kid who has vommitted and a kid who had diarhea.  This is when Maya starts crying. 
I paste a smile on, pay the tow truck driver, and go on my way. 
We stop in Huntsville to pick up supper, they got my order wrong.  Why was I not surprised...

Date Night!

It is said that in order to take care of others you must first take care of yourself.  I don't know who actually said that, but it sure sounds good.  Anyway, one way that David and I take care of ourselves and our relationship is that we have frequent date nights.  Right now, date night is every Thursday night.  This year we are trying to choose different and more active dates, rather than just eating out.  This past week we got out of the house later than we had hoped so we chose hiking the Cranberry Trail (an easy trail near the town of Callander).  It was wonderful, there was no one else there, no cars in the parking lot, no people on the trail, and no one, as far as we could see, in the bog picking cranberries.  We hiked up to the lookout and climbed the tower...we reach the top, it is quiet, peaceful and private.  So, I turn to David and say- "this would be a really great place to have sex..."  as I finish my sentence two people, not 100 yards away stand up from where they were picking cranberries and look right at me.  David and I have a good laugh about this...laughing is also good for a relationship!

Lessons in grammar and sentence structure...

So the lesson I learned as a parent today...don't try to write something intelligent sounding while talking to your 3 year old.  You then look as if you have the same amount of education in grammar and sentence structure as a 3 year old...just look at my post below...
That, and maybe try to be well rested when typing things for the world to see...I'm sorry to my friends Mindy and Chris S-B for my complete and utter destruction of the english language seen below!

Mess, mess, mess!

I have been called super mom more than once this week.  I'm unsure why people call me super mom, and I certainly don't feel like super mom, especially when my house tends to look as if the Tazmanian devil lived here too.  There is mess everywhere, and it seems that I no sooner get one mess cleaned up and move on to the next that the first mess is back again.  So, I have decided to let my neuroticism over a clean house go...people that come to visit are going to have to be aware that we LIVE in our house.  Kids make messes, that they don't clean up.  Incidents happen to sometimes prevent adults from cleaning up their messes.  I am not going to destroy my child's work of art (lego castle, Thomas railway set up, princess puzzle, etc.) just to keep the place perfectly neat for company...and I am certainly not going to give up all my cooking, baking and canning in order to make sure the books on the bookshelf look perfectly neat and tidy.  It has taken me a long time to get to this place where my house doesn't have to be perfect to have company...but I am going to embrace it now and go with it!  I'm not giving up on cleaning, just perfection... it is actually feels about 'freeing'... now just to tell David about this new bit of freedom! 

First Day...

Carter went to Montessori School for the first time today...I took him to school, he was smiling from ear to ear, almost shaking with the excitement!  He walked into the school introduced himself to a few of the other kids as he changed his shoes and put his things away.  Then we went in to the large gathering area for circle, where Carter was not shy about announcing his name to the whole group.  I was so proud of him and pleased to see that he was embracing this new experience. 
He then turned to me and said...'bye mommy- you can go now'.  That broke my heart...I left shortly and had a few tears in the van before pulling away...my little boy is growing up, but can't he just miss me a little??? 
I went to get him at lunch, he spotted me from across the playground and came running...yelling 'mommy, mommy'....then he waved and said good bye to all his new friends, hopped in the van and said...'I had fun at 'dinassori' (his word) school but I happy to see you mommy', bless his heart!  I love this kid!!! (and I love that he missed me a little)....is that selfish??? 

If the gate is closed...

Carter is a pretty inventive kid...we have a gate at the top of the stairs to prevent Maya from falling down them.  Today Carter managed to get upstairs with out anyone opening the gate.  We thought he had just mastered opening and closing it on his own...then we caught him...
Our living room is an open concept over our front entrance with a railing to make a partial wall between the stairs and the living area.  Carter has mastered flipping himself over said railing onto the couch that sits right on the other side of it.  NICE!!!


Other ingenious things Carter has done...we put a gate across his bedroom doorway so we could leave the bedroom door open at night, but he wouldn't wander the house.  The first morning he hooked the ladder from his bed to the gate and climbed right over.

We put the raisins (one of his favourite foods) on the top shelf of our ceiling height pantry...he opened the drawers on the bottom half and climed them and the shelves like stairs to reach them.

We latched the back door at the top to prevent him from sneaking outside...he climbed up on the oven and reached up to unlatch it.

I'd like to point out that I am not a neglectful parent...these incidents usually happen when I am in the bathroom or tending to Maya and I usually catch him mid act.  Any kid that is bright enough to figure these tricks out though, is certainly smart enough to know not to do it when mommy is watching.

He is a great kid and keeps me on my toes!  I LOVE it!!!!

The First Day of School

I am one of those people that enjoys having their kids at home...I like the relaxed schedule- the freedom to make up the day as we go along, sleep however late or whenever we want, the ability to make impromptu trips...so it is always a little sad for me when the first day of school arrives.  It is also a little reminder that the kids are growing up...a little faster than I had hoped. 

I do, however, look very forward to hearing about their first day when they get home from school tonight!

at 4:30 in the morning...

David and I often talk about the comments people make on others parenting...we also find that the people who think they are the best parents are those with NO children...
We were like that once...idealistic with our own ideas on how to become the perfect parent and 'raise our kids right'...we had a picture in our head about what kind of parents we were going to be...the thing is we are nothing like that picture of ourselves.  Quite honestly I never was, and the parent I am changes from day to day. 
In reality you may think you know what kind of parent you are going to be, but you don't really know until it is 4:30 in the morning and you haven't been to sleep yet, in fact you haven't slept well for days, and your child decides it is time to explore their creative selves through play (I remind you here that is 4:30 AM) that you truly discover what kind of parent you are or will be.
I had one of these moments last night.  I discovered that letting the baby cry and potentially wake up the 3 year old is less painful a thought than trying to stay awake and make sure the baby doesn't fall down the stairs.  I discovered that I don't believe that the baby really sets the schedule (ok, admittedly I already knew that one), I discovered that her learning isn't nearly as cute and exciting at 4:30 am than it is at 4:30 pm, but I also discovered that I have a lot more patience than I thought I did.  Not to mention that I have discovered that staying up until 4:30 am is no longer a thing I can do with ease...my 31 year old self is past the days of staying up all night!
So parents to be...enjoy the dream of your perfect parenting selves and then let it go, it isn't going to happen.  For all my parenting friends embrace the learning...you might just discover something amazing about yourself!

What 7 (almost 8) brings...

So far, David and I have led a pretty blissful parenting life...sure our kids get into things, make messes, wet their pants, throw up all over, try to pull things over on us (and the baby sitters) but generally we have pretty great kids!  Lauren, however, is at a stage where she feels she needs to assert herself.  I can totally relate to this, however, she is being inexcusably rude.  She is calling names, being physical and otherwise using language and tone that we don't approve of.  She is generally a wonderful kid who is bright, creative and funny...but as we enter this thing called the "tween years" there are a few challenges...hopefully with some patience and reminders we can coast through with minor damage.

But while I mention it- what the heck is this thing called 'tween'...???I was never a tween- at least I was never called one...

Lesson 2-

Always unload sharp and dangerous objects from the dishwasher first!  When little ones come to 'help' you they will always go after the brightest, shiniest and most dangerous things first! 

On an aside, it might be helpful to wash large knives by hand.


Tha back story, Maya is now walking and one of the things she loves to do is stand at the dishwasher and pull out all the silverware.  If I don't get it first she always grabs the peeler.  It is bright yellow, shiny and sharp...
Maya also loves to try and get in the dishwasher...

Lessons you learn as a parent...

O.K.  admittedly I have been REALLLY bad at posting on her...but I am going to work on getting better...in fact I think I am going to start a series of posts about the day to day lessons you learn as a parent...

Lesson 1- when potty training a boy who is learning to stand up when he pees, do not keep a basket of magazines next to the toilet...this can only end in a smelly, wet disaster...

Spotlight on Julie!

Julie is 5, almost 6 (her birthday is June 27th). 
She loves to dance and has her 3rd dance recital this Saturday.  She will be performing 3 dances, a tap, jazz and hip hop number. 
Julie is in SK and loves school.  When she grows up she wants to be a doctor. 

That's all she has to say!

Spotlight on Carter!

Our son Carter is now "free" 3 years old.  He is a very active and busy 3 year old who has recently discovered a bit of a defiant streak in himself.  Carter loves to play games and outside.  His favourite movie is Cars.  His most favourite thing to do, however, is to help Papa, especially if he gets to ride the tractor or combine!
He loves to eat and his favourite foods are yogurt, cheese, berries and treats (Smarties). 

I will try and post more recent photos soon!

This was written with Carter's help...he told me his favourite things as I typed!

When its over....

OK, we all have those things in our life that we can't wait to see to completion, like taxes, for example.  Many people say this about certain aspects of parenting--like waking in the night, 2 hour feedings, diapers...and the list goes on and on.  I felt this way with each of my children...until now. 

I think with the older three, I always knew deep down that I would experience all those things again, but with Maya its different.

You see, David and I finally figured out how babies happen, so we cut the wires (or rather, I cut the wires) and stopped it.  So I know that Maya is our last baby. 

I am delighted to watch her grow, but have to say there is a little part of me that is sad when she reaches that next milestone, because I know this will be the last time.  She is sleeping through the night now, and I am thankful for the sleep (I LOVE sleep!), but I know I will never again sit up at 3:00 am in a quiet and dark house, watching the snow quietly fall through the front window, as I nurse a baby back to sleep.  It is those moments I will miss.

Just a couple of weeks ago Maya moved into the next size (3) of diaper.  That diaper seemed so big, and it really signalled the end of the 'tiny' baby stage.  As I commented to David about the bigger diapers, he reminded me of how things have changed since our first...with Lauren we couldn't wait for her to make it to size 3 diapers  because we could buy them in larger (bulk) quantities and that would be so much cheaper.  With Maya, we were a little sad to see it come, we wanted her to be small just that little bit longer. 

It's also funny how David and I view things differently.  Last week we went out for our first dinner without Maya.  David was very excited, we no longer had to bring a baby with us on date night...it could just be us.  I almost cried when he pointed it out, just another way she is growing up so very fast.

The one thing about the kids getting older, however, is that we are on to the next exciting phase of our lives...I will miss the baby stage, but I so look forward to what is ahead. 

Besides, we have lots of siblings to give us beautiful nieces and nephews to love and cuddle and get our baby fix!

Being an Aunt!

I became an Aunt for the 3rd time last Thursday!  Our first nephew, Kipp, arrived late in the day!  There is something so superbly special about being an Aunt.  You get to have these very special little people in your life, whom you love like they were your own!  You get to hug them and kiss them and give them lots of love, but to top it all off you get to be like the "fun parent".  Don't get me wrong, I don't parent my nieces or nephew, I just mean you get to have all the fun without having to be the disciplinarian, or the person who has to get up in the middle of the night...being an Aunt is so fantastic!!!  Not quite as good as being a parent...but still pretty great!   

Some Recent Funnies from the Armstrong House

Mommy: Carter what did you do at Krista's (our childcare provider) today?

Carter: I climb table with Morgan.

Mommy:  You climbed the table with Morgan?  What else did you do?

Carter:  I jump on table with Morgan and John.   (John is Krista's husband...)



Julie to me as I am feeding Maya:  Mommy which side is the milk and which side is the food?



Lauren to me as she is playing with Maya and I make supper:  Mommy, are you almost done making supper?  I am contemplating retirement from my job of entertaining Maya.  (and yes she really used the words contemplating, retirement and entertaing)

Not so fun...parenting 101

I just had to tell our daughter that she couldn't participate in an activity she really wanted to do.  David and I really felt that the risks were way to high...unfortunately she didn't understand that...this is that not so fun part of being a parent.

Julie, Julie, Julie!

"Lauren...the sky is purple..."

Now she sits back calmly and waits for the fireworks! 

Why do little sisters feel it is their job to aggravate their older sisters?

It's all going waaaay to fast!

So Lauren is a Brownie (Girl Guide's).  As you all are probably aware camping is an integral part of guiding.  Lauren came out of her meeting the other night with her schedule for the rest of the year...she was very excited because it includes a camping trip in February.  The following is an excerpt from the conversation that ensued...

Lauren:  "So can I go on the camping trip Mommy?"

Me: "That is something Daddy and I will have to discuss when we have more details..."

Lauren:  "What do you mean mom, I'm 7...it will be great...I can go!"

Me:  "It is something Daddy and I will have to talk about...we don't know any of the details, it is out of town, it is winter...."

Lauren:  "MOM!" she says very impatiently.  "I'm 7!"

Me:  "Yes, Lauren I know..."

Lauren:  "Do you know Mom, do you really know?"

Me:  "Yes Lauren, I was there...I know you are 7."

Lauren:  "Mom, it is JUST camping.  I know how to go camping, I have done it with you and Daddy millions of times over the years.  It will be just fine, I know it will be just fine."

Me:  "Yes, Lauren, I know you can handle camping but it is still something Daddy and I will have to discuss."

Lauren:  "FINE!, but you know Mom, I am 7 now, not 3...you are going to have to let me grow up sometime!!!"


This kid is 7 going on 20!  I am really not looking forward to the teenage years!
 

New Year!

It is a New Year, and one thing I would like to do this year is post here more often!  I think it is such a great way to chronicle the things that happen in our little piece of the world!  Stay tuned!!!