This Room

Last week we planned to meet David at work for a picnic lunch.  The kids were pumped, but as lunch time arrived it was raining on and off, and very, very humid...so we moved the picnic indoors.  As we walked in to the staff kitchen Carter turned to David and said..."so this room here is for picnics and psychologists?"

Of course David thought this was hilarious... and, I think, maybe wished a tiny but that this was the purpose of that room. 

Don't Put Things in Your Ears!

I spent 4 hours in emerge the other night because Carter had stuck playdough in his ears.  Everyone in the waiting room thought this was funny...and admittedly it kind of was.  I mean, if I wasn't the mom whose kid had done it, I would have thought it was hysterical! 
Carter wasn't thrilled.  In the moment, in his 5 year old brain, he was being smart.  Carter had been working on a face made out of playdough, and he couldn't get the ears just right, so he was trying to take a mold of his own ears.  It was a creative thought, but in practise proved to be more trouble than he bargained for.  We got the dough out of his ears, and he will likely not try that again.  I admire his out of the box thinking and creativity! 

Big, Happy Family...but crazy? No!

A few months back, friends said to my husband when he arrived to visit on his own "oh, you're by yourself, thank goodness.  We were going to suggest Tim Hortons if you had the whole family!" (here I will add, they had invited us for a visit, we didn't initiate it)

Another person recently said to me "your kids are crazy".  (I will add, she followed this comment with...every family with 4 kids is crazy!)

Both of these comments have bothered me for months. 

The thing is, after much thought and speaking to others, it seems that people assume because you have 4 kids life is just chaos.  The thought of 4 children is overwhelming to them, so they let the imagination of what they assume my life is, overtake the reality of the situation. 

My children are not 'bad' kids.  They are not unruly or out of control.  Sure they have their moments, all kids do, but our reality is not a scene from ...insert name of crazy movie family here. 
My kids are generally well behaved.  I am constantly impressed with how they handle themselves, even when there are other kids around who don't have the same expectations as we have in this family.  David and I have been complimented many times on how pleasant and well behaved our children are.   Despite this, everytime a hear a comment such as the above, it is a stinging blow.

I am sad that so many people are missing the opportunity to spend time with and get to know our fantastic children because of their notion that by way of us having a large family it has changed their genetics and disposition to make them, and us certifiably crazy.  But, it is their loss!

We chose to have a large family, and we love it!  

There is never a dull moment!  We are never lonely, always busy, and our house is full of Love!

How would you respond???

This morning my son told me that he was going to marry Autumn.  Autumn or some other girl or boy that he loved.  Then he told me that some kids at school told him that he couldn't marry a boy, and laughed at him because he thought he could.

I assured Carter, that he indeed could marry a boy if he wanted.  That his Dad and I would support him in marrying who ever he wanted, so long as they were in a healthy and loving relationship. 

Now, my son is in JK.  I don't think he knows what 'gay' means, or if he is gay.  We are raising our children to believe in equality for all, to be accepting of all, that you should be with who you love and, most of all, be yourself.  So for him, saying he is going to marry a girl or boy, is just that.  He will marry someone, someone he loves. 

I am sad that he felt ridiculed for thinking he could marry a boy, but I am glad it didn't phase him, he is still saying "I will marry some girl or boy that I love."