Hahahaha… I laughed out loud this morning when I looked out the window.
Last night at 6pm, we have friends over to play in the backyard in the sandbox and tree fort(sans mitts, snow pants, boots…).
Twelve hours later we have this:
Hmmm, time to get the snow shovels out again.
God, I love you. Snow is an incredibly powerful, purifying symbol. Thanks for the reminder (and the laughs!)
Off to play in the snow (and encourage some very depressed neighbours!)
Here’s what we ended up making today:
Bright, glorious sunshine welcomed us to the cross country ski hill this morning.
It was our last Saturday of lessons. Every year the age group called “Bunny Rabbits” or “Bunnies” has a little race they call the Hoppet Loppet. The real Loppet happens tomorrow for the older kids and adults.
The Hoppet Loppet was a “race” that involved going as fast as you can from the bridge to the finish line.
Our three year old skied almost as quickly as it took him to eat his cookie medal that he received at the finish line.
AWE! I have never seen CC feeling more proud of himself. AWESOME!
CC is the one wearing the bib with #12!
Gotta love having the whole family being together, even my parents got out for a ski before the race and met CC at the finish line.
I am sitting by my computer gob-smacked realizing that this is my 100th post – how is that possible?
I guess my dad was right when I used to cry and moan about Math homework. His response was often, “Just do 10 minutes per day and it will get easier!”.
Since starting this blog, I think about what I want to share with my boys as they get older, sometimes, I even think of my grandchildren. I pray that this would be a living document for them to laugh at and maybe even ponder when they are older.
Every time I write, I think about YOU, the people who may read the post. I am careful with my words, not being to extreme, but being honest and real in my daily life with three wee lads. (I can be a tad extreme, just ask Sexy Neck!)
Today, as I sit my six-foot frame at the keyboard, I want to write about reading. What a gift reading is to give to our children!
Last night, I was putting baby OC to bed. Usually, I come out from the boys’ room to screaming, running, wrestling, chasing – it is that time of day. This is what I came out to last night:
Without a television in our “Playhouse“, books are our go-to activity. None of my boys are able to read out loud yet, but the reading skills are so evident: looking at books, pretending to read, retelling the story by looking at the pictures, trying to guess the words.
I am looking forward to when they can read me a book and I can fall asleep. Much better than me falling asleep mid-book! Yes, this parenting of boys is sometimes very tiring!
Normally our couches look like this:
![IMG_1132[1]](https://beenough.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/img_11321.jpg)
These are the cushions in “holiday mode”.
If the boys use our cushions to create chaos (hitting, pushing, yelling etc.), the cushions go on “holiday”.
Most days our cushions are used to make rocket ships, pirate ships, boats, airplanes, forts and caves.
This morning our kindergartener was home sick from school. Our boys had an incredible two hour cushion-fest. It was incredible to see all the creations that they made, including this cave the boys wanted to eat their snack in.
Here is JC’s coming out of the cave!
![IMG_1129[1]](https://beenough.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/img_11291.jpg)
Our house is made for play. We don’t have a playroom, we have a playhouse.
Our bedroom is the wrestling area, our kitchen table is the crafts/playdough/lego spot, our kitchen is the science experiment/baking place and window sills are meant for climbing.
![IMG_1133[1]](https://beenough.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/img_11331.jpg)
Enough said. 🙂
Whew, eleven weeks til our house is no longer ours.
Eleven weeks to move our “stuff” to I don’t know where.
So, we will choose to trust. Hope. Dream. God has gotten us this far, He will take us the rest of the way.
What we plan on doing in the meantime is enjoying the ride.
Metaphorically and Literally.
This week, my two youngest sons and I had the car in the shop. We went to the mall. A place that I visit two or three times per year. CC was in shock when he went up to the kiddie rides, asked if he could go on and I said, “YES!”. This was a first!
I have decided it is time to enjoy the ride in more ways than one.
I am “hollow in the pit of my stomach” sad.
I had a picture of how my life would unfold, where I would live and specifically in which town. My husband, Sexy Neck, has been working 60 kilometres down the lake since July.
We are moving so that we can have more time playing/eating/wrestling together as a family, instead of Sexy Neck spending two hours per day in his “steel box on wheels” with just the ability to talk with us on the phone.
BUT I AM SAD! Right now my “work”, with the help of a very wise, God-loving woman, is learning to acknowledge what I am feeling and what my children are feeling. I didn’t realize that my body lets me know how I am feeling even before my mind tells me. This is a profound thought for me, as I am very in tune to my body due to many years of competitive sport.
My sadness comes in the form of a hollow stomach, my anger comes in sweaty hands/ battering heart and my fear come in tension in my shoulders and down my arms. What does your body do/tell you?
My children love this new habit of me acknowledging their feelings, getting down to their physical level, naming their feeling (anger, frustration, happy, sad, excited) and giving them a hug/kiss. This simple acknowledgement seems to diffuse almost every situation that occurs in our home.
So here is the house with the for sale sign:
Not many people knew that we were going to sell our house. We had an offer even before we put it on the market. Glory to God alone! The realtor had told us that it would take between six and twelve months. God is helping us move forward, but I am not quite ready.
I am still sad. I wish that as people found out about us selling that they could acknowledge my sadness. The normal response is pointing out all the great things, activities, schools, people, areas about the new city that we are going to.
What is wrong with being a little sad? Please let me grieve so that I don’t have to see a counsellor about this issue in ten years.
Today I will be with my feelings… tomorrow I will probably be jumping off the walls with excited. I will keep you posted!
I am at a loss for words as I sit and write this. I will let me emails to Sexy Neck (my husband) take you through last night. He was away on work, but my emails to him helped me stay in the moment. I have never had a night like this with my boys. Enjoy the ride. Off to nap.
Strap yourselves in, here we go:
Tues, Feb 19 at 11:18pm
Subject: I am managing
CC again – poor guy. But he is resting now. I hope everything is out. All is clean again. We are sleeping with windows open tonight.
Tacos are now off the menu for awhile as well as Salmon. You are going to have to start cooking as that is 2 meals off my rotation!
Wed, Feb 20 at 12:16am
Subject: The Troops are…
Restless tonight! Baby OC has made a few noises tonight. He also had the worst poo I have EVER changed today – it was all the way up his back! Wow!
JC seems to be okay, but we should know more by the weekend.
I pray you are having one of the best sleeps every and that you wake up feeling rested. You have alot going on. I appreciate that.
One day/one moment/one person/one problem at a time.
Wed, Feb 20 at 12:57am
Subject: Vomit #3
You would be so proud of me! If I don’t get sick, it is a miracle. CC is resting again. Another load of laundry in. I am going to try and rest. *Note I NEVER clean up vomit when Sexy Neck is home, that is a blue job in our house!
Wed, Feb 20 at 1:46am
Subject: Vomit #4
This time you would have been proud of CC he got everything in the bowl!
We are hanging in there. CC is so sweet even when he is sick!
Love you. Rest up. Stay healthy!
Wed, Feb 20 at 2:20am
Subject: Baby OC now up…
Just woke up in pain. Gave him Tylenol. Just sitting with him and waiting for him to ho back to sleep.
Wed, Feb 20 at 2:35am
Subject: Please
Hopefully the boys sleep in.., finally hitting the hay!
Wed, Feb 20 at 2:48am
Subject: Baby OC is awake again!!!!
Dude!
Ok now I am going to try and sleep. Don’t ask me any skill testing questions tomorrow(later today I mean).
Wed, Feb 20 at 3:01am
Subject: CC again
Another vomit session right after I pressed send on the last email. Baby OC is awake and yelling “cookie” over and over – this is comical. Seriously.
I hope you can laugh about all this! What a night! What a week! What a month!
Wed, Feb 20 at 3:14am
Subject: It is a Party
Every boy is now awake. JC now vomiting
Wed, Feb 20 at 3:21am
Subject: Power Puke
There is now puke all over the toilet, walls, floor. Thank God JC got up to pee first.
Breastfeeding Baby OC now and trying to get him calmed. Waiting for the next round…..
Try not to worry about us. I will rest with the boys today. I have a feeling that everyone will be sleeping in.
I will phone you when we wake up.
——————————————————————————————-
–Sexy Neck has been woken up by all my pings on his email! Here is his first response, of many, but the only one I will post.
Wed, Feb 20 at 3:21am
Subject: Come home?
Do you want me to come home?
——————————————————————————————–
My final responses:
No,but if you could come home on the early side tomorrow that would be fabulous!!
It is comforting knowing you are awake too!
"Be" ENOUGH 