Black or White

With the new house there have been a lot of decisions regarding decorating. And with that has brought much thought and (sometimes) discussion.

Avery, although she is so young, has not been afraid to share her thoughts . . . and even becomes adament that we follow her advice.

Take, for instance, when I painted her room.

"What colour do you want?"

"PINK."

"How about green?"

"No. PINK."

When the paint went on the walls and began looking more green than pink, someone was in serious trouble.

A similar situation occured when I was painting her bathroom, although instead of forcing her to accept the mauve that I wanted, I did actually give in and let her choose pink.

Today, I was changing out the dresser knobs on her Wal-Mart dresser. I had looked high and low for a good quality pink crystal drawer pull, but hadn't found any. Instead, I decided that her white dresser could stand some black knobs.

"What are you doing, mom?"

"I'm changing out the knobs on your dresser."

"Why are you putting black ones on?"

"To make it look nicer."

"Mo-om, I don't like black."

"No? What colour do you like?"

"Pink. Or white."

"Honey, I tried to find pink knobs but I couldn't. I thought these ones would match your chandelier. See, it's black."

Avery looked up at the chandelier and paused for a moment.

"But the light is WHITE. Put the white knobs back on."

"I think the black ones are nicer."

"But I don't like black."

I even tried to get her to stand at the entrance of the room to see how the black knobs tied the chandelier and black mirror in with the rest of the room, but it didn't win her over.

"The dresser is white. Put the white ones back on."

I guess we'll be on the hunt for some pink knobs . . . if anyone knows of any good ones. :)

Flesh Eating Disease

It has been a long, hard fight, but Liv has been slowly losing her fight to the flesh eating disease.

This flesh eating disease is a little different than the text book version though. Instead of the flesh getting eaten by bacteria, the flesh is consuming her little body. :)

First to go was her chin. Next were her knuckles. Then her wrists and ankels followed suit.

It wasn't long before her hands and feet disappeared, followed by her knees. Now that we haven't seen her elbows for a few weeks, we've really begun to love the rolls brought on by the uncontrolled appetite of her flesh.

And sadly, now that she has started rolling her body, we will be seeing less of her chunky rolls and getting reacquainted with her sweet little body parts.

English

Used to be my best subject.

I was writing books when I was five. (Albeit, they were short and the printing was a little sloppy, but they were books . . . books that I even forced the librarian to put a pocket on so other kids could sign it out.)

I started up a school newspaper when I was nine. I had a magazine that I circulated to help other "young writers" get published when I was 11. A few years later, I wrote "novels" (well, 53 pagers).

As yearbook editor, you could say that I had a great command of the English language. And all my speaking and poetry awards would support that claim.

In fact, I did well in all languages: English, French or even Russian. I had little trouble expressing myself in written or spoken word. (At least to the level at which I had been taught.)

Which is why I have been so perplexed lately. (Lately being the last four years.)

In my mind, I speak perfect English.

"Don't climb my counters!"

"No eating on the couch. Eat only at the table."

"Clean your room."

"Pee INto the toilet, NOT on the floor."

Jayden and Avery seem to understand me well enough but Jackson, well, it's as though I was speaking Martian to him. He just looks at me (well, if I am lucky) and then before I can even finish repeating myself, he will have climbed back on the counters or snuck another spoonful of ice cream that he was not-s0-cleverly hiding beneath couch cushions.

I cannot even begin to express the great frustration that I have had these last four years. Or the horrible glimpses into the future of an unchecked child who has grown up doing whatever the heck he wants, whenever because no positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or wooden spoon threats have proved to work in teaching him how to behave properly.

At my wits end (surely the long summer, mostly couped up inside our house since we have construction all around and not even a hope of grass this year contributed to the stress), I began to think of other ways for him to learn. From other people. Obviously, I was the wrong parent for him.

Private school? Maybe boarding school somewhere. A change or a different person out there could maybe inspire him. And though it made me sad to think that it would have to come to that in order for me to give him a good chance at being successful in life, I really believed it would be our only chance.

As Brad and I pulled lint from our pockets, the reality of funding such an idea became a faint dream and we realized we had to pull our sleeves up and figure something else out.

We thought about being super positive. But it's SO hard to be super positive with your child when they absolutely refuse to eat anything but bacon at a meal. Or when they go behind your back, find the iPad that you have hidden, and begin playing it against your will. Or, after he refused to clean his room and you decide to "switch chores," his room for the kitchen of dishes and you still have to do all the dishes yourself.

This afternoon, I had had it. Brad took over dinner duty and I ran to the store for a few more things. He bribed Jackson with Kernels Popcorn to help him cook and set the table. Afterwards, we all praised him about how amazing dinner was, how the juice was the best we'd ever tasted, etc, etc. And he even ate his whole dinner.

Later on at bedtime, we heard screaming from upstairs. Apparently, Jackson had asked Jayden to read to him from his Bakugan book and Jayden refused, so Jackson bit his head. Some scolding from downstairs and lots of whining and crying from upstairs (okay, maybe there was a lot of both), left Jackson in tears on his bed.

I went in and calmly told him how unacceptable it was to bit, hit, or bully someone into doing something that you wanted them to. I reminded him of how good he really is and how much he is loved and then I read him a Bakugan biography and then we talked about all the good things he did that day.

As we spent a few extra minutes cuddling, Jackson turned to me, tears in his eyes, and said, "Today was a really good day."

"Yes, it was. You were a really good helper," I agreed.

"It was the best. And tomorrow is going to be even better."

Let's hope so. Hopefully we have found Jackson's rosetta stone and things will go (mostly) up from here.

Otherwise, I'll be in the market for an English to Martian dictionary . . . if anyone out there has one. :)

5 Months

It's hard to believe that five months have passed since I came into this world!

I've really been busy this month. Teething set in really bad for me (ouch!) and I've wanted nothing but to nurse all day and night. Even dad's feeble attempts at giving me carrots haven't worked.

Once the teething died down a bit, I gave mom a nice 10 hour break one night. She seemed REALLY grateful.

My days have been spent going here and there; to the States on trips and errands, to the amusement park and water park, and of course on walks with the family. I have warmed up to Avery quite a bit. She's pretty funny and almost always produces a smile on my face . . . until she tries to choke me with a hug or something . . . then I get really worried.

Mom brought out some fun toys for me, like my self-contained Jump-a-Roo and a cool Leap Pad table. (I can't really play with it, but I like the lights.) I still enjoy my fish swing . . . as long as Avery is far enough away that she can't swing me roughly in it.

I'm getting used to celebrity status. Everywhere I go, everyone absolutely loves me. They think I'm the most adorable little thing. Can you blame them? I truly am all that . . . and more! My sweet personality and huge smiles are just the icing on this jelly-roll!

So far I am not moving around a whole lot. I think mom fed me too much donut flavoured milk. But, I've been trying to roll over, and kind of had it working the other day. I'm not too concerned though. I've discovered that a huge smile and some frantic arm waving will get me up in the air in no time and with my "chauffer" I can go anywhere I please . . . while safely staying out of harm's way. Dad says I remind him of some character named "Oscar the Grouch", whoever that is.

All in all, I'm really enjoying my time here with my family. I just can't wait to get moving on my own . . . and trying some of that food stuff that they all eat.

Jayden

Jayden has really developed his little social circle this year.

The big move from one school to the other mid-session didn't seem to phase him too much. He quickly made lots of friends and is very happy in that circle.

He has been busy learning how to "super push" on the toboggan hill, how to deek in soccer, and how to battle with pool noodle light sabres. His school work has been coming along well also. He has become an avid reader, branching out from his old "Cars and Trucks" and "Auto Trader" magazines to all things Star Wars related and to chapter books like "Flat Stanley."

He writes stories too . . . usually about Lego or Star Wars. One day I will have to put one on the blog.

He often stays up late at night reading and building lego.

Speaking of lego, it is his newest obsession. Especially Lego Star Wars. He can play with it for hours and loves to play with the little Lego Star Wars men. (We tried just buying him the action figures that are MUCH larger than the lego guys because they are $15 rather than the $50 for the set of lego . . . just to get the Lego Yoda but he wasn't interested.)

He too has finally clicked in swimming. (It's funny, after the last three years of paying tons of money for swim instruction and still having them cling to us in the pool, we don't put them in lessons now and just try to escape the heat at Sarah's pool and it all clicks. They learn how to swim. Except for Avery who has had 2 near drowning experiences.) He swims all over the pool, does his "canyon balls" and even tries diving.

Jayden is generally responsible and generally a good kid. However, I see a lot of playground boys rubbing off on him with his mannerisms and attitude that I'm not thrilled about. (One in particular is the ever so cool ampit farting that he so nicely shared with Jackson and Avery. Now Avery does it in public places . . . but lifts up her dress to do it.)

He likes biking and skiing . . . especially going off jumps and catching air.

It's hard to believe that his is 7. Where did the time go? I feel often like I missed out on the last 6 years of his life with all the other babies/kids to look after. We are definitely making more of a point to spend special time with him now before we lose him to teenagehood.

Jackson

Jackson.

Ugh.

While significant improvements have been made with Jackson now that he is in school (and with the downturn of Jayden and Avery), Jackson has had shining moments where he has been the golden child. (Well, next to Livvie since she's a baby and SO easy.)

However, shrill high pitched screams? obnoxious noises? come from him (and rub off on Avery) and it drives us insane.

He is more managable for some things, like sleeping, he is generally the best child to go to sleep when asked. And he has taken some responsibility in looking after Avery and Liv on occassions. And, surprisingly, he is one of my best cleaners and has the cleanest room. (We are still working on keeping our toilet and bathroom clean.)

But, he still gets into trouble (usually for getting someone else into trouble) and likes to use brute force to get his ways if his high pitched noises don't do the trick.

He is always getting hurt . . . either by being careless and walking into things or being beat up by his little sister (who has obviously learned a thing or two about using light sabres, kung fu and brawling).

However, he is full of energy (except when biking . . . I think that kids' bikes are built way too heavy and the hills here are pretty steep) and full of life. He is considerate (unless he is upset) and has deep passions for all things sugary, Bakugan, and swimming.

This summer he finally had the courage to take his life jacket off and has been doing pretty well swimming.

He loves dogs. Well, animals of all kinds, but the ones we see around here most are dogs. He likes to hold them and pet them, take care of them, etc.

Cooking is another favourite thing of his. Taste-testing comes with it too. Jackson has become my best vegetable and fruit eater.

Jackson is my diamond in the rough, but we are seeing far more shining parts than rough parts now. Thank goodness!

Avery

Some thing happened to our sweet little Avery.

Sure some of her sweetness comes out every once in a while, but more often than not, a crazy, whiny, demanding monster surfaces.

We have a few ideas of how this happened:

1) One night some Aliens came into the house, abducted her, rewired her brain and then brought her back to see how we would react while they watched and laughed.

2) Her every-other full days with Jackson have changed her for the worst. (Jackson seems to enjoy giving her bad ideas to do things that will undoubtedly get mom upset and get her hurt or in trouble.)

3) She is at the in-between stage for napping. She clearly still needs them, but refuses to take them. Anything short of me physically holding her down while she screams bloody murder for the construction workers to hear (it was much worse before a/c was installed and the windows had to be open) for about 30-40 minutes, leaves her awake and gets us into the fun "get-to-bed-now-before-I-get-my-spoon" charade. The fact that her room is kind of across the hall from Jackson's and they talk through open doors doesn't help either. Especially since he likes to influence her to get out of her room and play Bakugan with him.

Otherwise, she is pretty happy and to the innocent bystander, she seems like a dream. She loves to sing. Her current repetoire includes: ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, She'll Be Coming Down the Mountain, Popcorn Popping, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut, Star Wars Clone Wars theme song, and (taking after Grandma in Calgary,) Santa Claus is Coming to Town (in July) and Frosty the Snowman.

Neighbours know her as the adorable little girl who is ready for a rainstorm or flood as she wears her rubber rainboots every single day, refusing shoes. Her current favourites are the yellow ones that Grandma in Calgary got her. I personally don't understand why she doesn't get hot in 30 degree (100 degree F) weather . . . but then there is Jackson who wears sweatshirts outside alongside her. (We really look like a circus troop when we exit the house, but if I tried to get them all dressed myself, we'd most likely never leave.)

Her favourite shows are Dora, Diego, Caillou, and Bakugan and Star Wars Clone Wars.

Avery loves to look after Liv. She often puts too many blankets and toys on her face and hasn't really figured out that Liv might need a bit of personal space--like don't talk to her with your face 3 cm from hers--or that yelling when you are that close can hurt people's ears. (Even though Liv is a little worried when she sees Avery around, she still breaks out into a bit smile for her sister.)

Right now we are all into cycling and Avery is determined to master her tricycle. I wish I could find her a better one though. The one we bought for Jayden years ago has great features, but it is near impossible for a young child to pedal on their own. None of our kids has managed to use it successfully . . . except for Jayden, last year.

Her favourite toys these days are: Ice Cream Bear (a Build-A-Bear), Dora suitcase, Bakugan, Dad's i-Phone and mom's i-Pad, and all her babies. Every day I have to go searching for Liv's receiving blankets and all of our face cloths because Avery has taken them and put one down for a sheet and another over for a blanket on all of her babies.

Avery likes to play hair dresser. She will often try out new hair styles on me. Usually they involve just brushing hair into my face and then whisking it off slightly. And she likes her doctor's kit (especially when it's nap time) . . . saying that "Doctors don't take naps."

Colouring is another favourite pass time, but we are still working on remembering what things we can and can't colour on. There have been a few occassions where she finished up looking like a hardened criminal on parol. (Fortunately, she never has gotten into a permanent markers yet.)

Four Months

At four months I have discovered my fingers . . . no small feat since they are hard to see over the rolls that make up my wrists and some plump round thing that Mom refers to as my hand.

I have taken a keen interest in what other people are putting into their mouths and can't wait to get a taste of what they are eating.

Mom also gave me some extra Guillermo time. What fun! He is so soft and furry, and easy to grab. (For some reason, Mom doesn't think Guillermo is as fond of his time with me though.)

Every morning I would wake up with a song. I LOVE to sing. I'm only four months so it sometimes resembles a rusty violin, but my heart is definitely in it and I'm doing my best for my parents so they smile anyway.

Mom's favourite part of me turning four months was that I finally started fitting into Avery's old 6-12 month clothing. (It kind of softens the blow of me growing so quickly.) Avery was pretty spoiled with all these cute outfits and beautiful dresses. I can't wait to see what's in store for later!

Did You Know . . .

That 111 freakin' degrees fahrenheit can not only melt a whole stick of butter within an hour, but also start it bubbling?

It has a similar affect on humans too. We've been in puddles for the last few days and tempers have been short.

The only thing I can compare this heat wave to is when Brad and I lived in Vegas and it was so stinking hot one day we decided to just skip town and go to LA. Back then we had old Jean Claude, Grand AM, who was on his last legs to begin with. His A/C never worked (which proved to be good for business since it kept Brad knocking doors and inviting himself into people's homes--and making pest control sales--instead of seeking refuge in his car). But on this day we skipped town, along with just about everyone else in Vegas and got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on a parking lot, er, highway in Death Valley, of all places. The temperature was about 120, I think, so maybe that was worse. I just remember having my clothes melt into my skin and leaving sweat puddles on the seats.

That's about as miserable as it is here.

I keep trying to remind myself that we have it better than those poor people who lost power. At least we can open the fridge on occassion to blow cool air on us . . . though I have had thoughts of crawling into the freezer, even if only for a few minutes.

Summer Vacation

I was looking forward to summer vacation this year.



The dredgery of making lunches every morning and rushing four kids up and getting them ready every day, winding our way through construction to get to the bus stop has certainly been taking a toll on me. Especially with the addition of longer days (read: brighter and later nights), kids just plain don't sleep . . . and only one actually sleeps in while the rest somehow still wake up with the roosters at 5am. (Murphy's Law has it that the kid who sleeps in is the one who needs to get to the school bus by 8:30am.) It makes for very miserable days (and nights).



So it is no surprise that I would be longing for summer vacation. (If they want to stay up late, hopefully they will all find a way to sleep in late.)



I also have a lot planned. Images of picnics at the parks, bike rides, long walks in the countryside mingled with some highly effective (and somehow fun) home schooling swirled around in my head. Naturally, we'd be having such a lovely time through all of this there would be nothing but relaxed moods and smiles on everyone's face.



Hmph. The key word is definitely WAS.



Summer vaction doesn't officially start for us until noon tomorrow and by the way today went, I'm already signing my papers to be committed.



Besides the crankiness that has been circulating through our house of sleep-deprived kids and parents and the heat of a new house without a/c, I got a little sneak peak of my summer today.



Of course there will be squabbles. (Hopefully not too many.) But this morning I heard screaming in the kitchen. Jackson had tried to get a watermellon off the island, with Avery's help and it had smashed into her nose, causing some swelling and bleeding. (Always a fantastic way to start the day.) Then there was grocery shopping with miserable kids . . . who of course had to pee as soon as we got there . . . and had to urgently poo when we were 15 minutes from our house. The shopping trip is always fun, kids jumping on and in the cart, adding to my grocery pile, and taste testing select foods along the way.



And then there was this afternoon. I've been trying to cut back on TV time and without a yard, it means unsupervised room time while I attend to cleaning or Liv. Apparently, someone (names have been changed to protect the guilty from their parents' anger) thought it would be fun to climb on a certain new bed and grab a certain chandelier and swing across the room. When the power went out in the house I assumed it was some construction stuff going on . . . until that certain little someone came down to "rat", er PIN, it on a smaller little someone.



Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?



I went to inspect the light and the cord had been cut and the fixture was hanging down 3 feet. I had to cut the power and try to refeed the cord into the holder and hope that a) it didn't fall down on its own and b) wouldn't catch on fire. Ever. Especially since some kids seem to NEED the light on ALL NIGHT long.

It's going to be a REALLY LONG summer.

Today Was A "Slit-Your-Wrists" Day

before I even left the house.

After a week of the stomach flu rotating from Brad, Jayden, Avery and myself (the latter two haven't fully recovered), and a night's full of "cat naps" between Avery and Liv, Jackson informs me that he feels like throwing up. At breakfast.

How do I send him to school when I know how awful he must be feeling? And yet, I tried to pursuade him to go since it would be easier for him to be at school than running a week's worth of post-poned errands that had to be done TODAY (because our fridge and cupboards have been empty for two days, and Jayden's birthday party is tomorrow).

As I sat in the bathroom with Avery's second round of diarrhea in five minutes, I wondered why I thought shopping with three (sleep deprived and miserable) kids yesterday would have been worse than today.

I loaded up the van with supplies for a full day excursion as we hunted for all things Star Wars, and did a major food stock up. And slipped a pink potty, just in case.

Every which way we went to get out of our development was blocked by three construction trucks . . . it seems that every construction worker in Ontario (maybe even Canada) are here working. This made us late to drop Jayden off . . . but I just couldn't drag all the kids in to sign my name on the "late sheet" when we were 3 minutes late. Jayden would just have to take the heat for me today.

About 15 minutes into our travel time I smelled something fruity in the car. Almost vomit-like. But not the old vomit that still lingered slightly from Christmas. This one seemed new. I finally caught a look back at Jackson. He was covered in orange juice vomit.

I asked how bad it was.

"Not too bad. It's just on my shirt, my Bakugan cards, my Bakugans, my shorts, the car seat, my socks, and some landed on my socks and the floor."

That put Wal-Mart on the first of my list of stores to visit. And, when I realized it was a super centre, it cut my shopping by three stores. With whiny, some barf-reeking, kids in tow, and five pool noodles hanging out of the bottom of the cart, we raced around finding supplies for Jayden's party. After finding some new clothes for Jackson, and loading up on Lysol wipes, I attempted grocery shopping. (At least there were a lot of plastic bags at the ready!).

But with Jackson moaning and groaning about not feeling well, Avery sampling the produce and breads, and Liv screaming (because, hey, why not?) I had had enough.

My "stock up" included: 2 packs of kool aid drink pouches, lettuce, brocoli, 7 rolls, 300 g of turkey breast, fruit roll ups, and some cheese.

In the check out, Jackson was holding a pack of gum. Usually I don't buy anything they grab in the check out, especially gum, but since it was "Winter Fresh" and he was throwing up, I thought it might be okay. Once in the car, he opened his gum to show me that the entire thing was EMPTY. Either he had picked up some random garbage off the floor, or some other kid (I hope) had emptied while in the check out.

I ran around the car to get Avery buckled in. She was holding some Carmex.

"Where did you get that?"

"The ground."

"Yuck Avery, don't pick things up off the ground. They are gross." I chucked it away.

"Eww. Spicy!" I knew what that meant. She had eaten some.

I blared the music, hoping it could take me to a happy place since the trip home consisted of 25 minutes of whining and screaming, some actually by me. Once we got home, it climaxed.

As I sat to nurse a cranky baby, listening to two other kids whine about why they don't want to eat, but need juice RIGHT NOW, I tried to call someone . . . anyone who might be in a more sane state.

Every number was busy.

Seriously?

I got so desperate I even called my cell phone. It was mysteriously busy too . . . apparently the construction workers outside cut our phone line again.

I think we will all take some long naps and try to pretend today didn't happen.

As I finished writing this, Liv threw up all over me and the wood floors. Perfect.

Looking for Dresses?

You know you are! Have you ever wondered where you can find/buy high fashion, modest dresses??

Look no further!

http://www.shabbyapple.com/

They have a bunch of cute dresses for a steal!! Happy shopping!

To Dine For

Well, the dining room isn't finished. But it's mostly finished . . . for now. We have one more chair to buy for the immediate future and then eventually we will be looking for window treatments, a buffet, another 4 side chairs and then a pair of interesting end chairs. And maybe a rug.

Wow, there are a lot of things needed to "complete" a room. And since we have so many other rooms that also need completing, I will be very content that I have a beautiful chandelier hanging instead of builder's globes, and a dining table that no longer floats alone in a room . . . or is surrounded by costco $13 special black folding chairs.

The chandelier was hung by Brad and myself and what a chore it was! It has made us seriously reconsider hanging our 4.5 ft by 3.5 ft chandelier in the foyer . . . 18 feet up!

Fortunately, it looks amazing and (much like how a newborn quickly fades the memory of labour) we have foggy memories about sore arms and sweat from the hour it took to hang.

Glamour Sleep

The nursery has come a long way from those early days in January when I armed myself with a paint brush and a few main pieces of furniture.

I knew from the first moment when I read "Russell the Sheep" that it would make the best nursery theme and couldn't wait to use it. I think it turned out beautifully. The other kids' nurseries were done up pretty nicely, given the fact that we were renting, but this one is my favourite by far.

A "Russell the Sheep" book was sacrificed to make this bedroom come to fruition. (Because hand-painting each of those sheep just wasn't going to happen.)

I love how cozy and relaxing it is. And I especially like how Liv turned out to be a girl so I could throw in some sparkling accessories and reuse some of Avery's pink bedding.

It's just a whimsy, glamorous room. I hope Liv likes it as much as I do! (By the way that she stares at the chandelier and the sheep on her walls, I think she does.)

Splish, Splash

Splish, splash, Liv was takin a bath,

Long about a Wednesday night. Yeah.

Rub-a-dub, just a relaxin' in the tub,

Thinkin' everything was alright.

Well, then I heard a strange noise, saw some bubbles float up fast,

Where did the jacuzzi come from?

I heard my mother ask.

Splish, splash! I saw more bubbles blast.

Well, how was I to know I was in a jacuzzi tub?!

I was a-splishing and a-splashing!

Noises were a-happ'nin', Water was a rollin'

Then I started laughin', oh yeah.

Blip, blop, another bubble popped,

The noise gave me quite a fright,

Ho, hum, Where'd the bubbles come from?

There wasn't any soap in sight.

Well, I felt something inside me, right before another blast,

A funny feeling told me, I might have passed some gas.

A-well-a splish, splash I began to laugh!

I was havin' so much fun, mom let me stay in some more.

I was a-tooting and pollutin', Gas just kept on passin',

I was just a-laughin' , splishin' and a-splashin', yeah.

Splish, splash! What a fun jacuzzi bath!

All powered by natural gas! :)

FYI: These photos are clean and censored. Those suspicious rolls are, in fact, some of Liv's FOUR thighs.