Category Archives: Boys

Boys, health & fitness, Parenting

Be Where You Are

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I have returned to “The Gym”, something I swore I would never do after ten years of competitive sport and countless hours in “The Gym”.

I am loving working out again!  It is fantastic to be active with a group of women who are so inspiring.  I love lining up in a row on your bike/treadmill/stepper chatting away and sweating.

My boys reminded me that I need to stick at my own level.

It is easy to get next to my friend, Penny, who does spin classes two to three times per week and cranks out rpms on the bike that would make Lance Armstrong, without drugs, sweat.   I need to learn to be okay where I am.

Today, my boys pulled out a few crafts from the cupboard behind out kitchen table.  Our five year old, JC, pulled out some paper and a pencil and began writing a story about nighttime animals.  Baby OC, pulled out the playdough and started pounding away. Our three year old, CC, got out a pirate colouring book and went back and forth and back and forth with his favourite blue felt.

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Whether I want to write a new story, pound away or just go back and forth, back and forth, the most important thing when it come to my mental and physical health is for me to be okay with where I am, in this moment, in this day, even at “The Gym”.

Note to self: I also need to continue to allow my children to be where they are.

Boys, Jesus Christ, Parenting

Be Enough My Son

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A crib with blocks under one end, how curious!

A crib with blocks under one end, how incredible!  Absolutely, amazing.  Lie on the floor, cry your eyes out marvelous.  This crib has shown me the mind blowing influence that we have over our children.  They are truly watching everything we do!

Two nights ago, our little baby boy didn’t want to eat his dinner.  As you know in previous posts, he is a voracious eater.   After dinner, he was sitting on daddy’s lap (thank you Jesus!) and proceeded to vomit across the table, down onto daddy lap and all over his favourite fire truck book.  (Sorry OC, we threw it out.)

While we were cleaning up the mess, our oldest child immediately ran out of the dining room, into his bedroom then back out again.  I didn’t think anything of it.

UNTIL, I walked into the boys room to get a change of clothes for our little vomit-er and what did I see, but a crib with blocks under one end!

Before Christmas, Baby OC had a cough so we had raised up the end of the crib using the boys blocks.

TWO MONTHS LATER, our son immediately responded to his brother’s sickness by again raising up the end of his crib with blocks.  ALL BY HIMSELF!

Baby OC is 100% again, but we have left the blocks.  Thanks to my five year old son, for showing me how to BE ENOUGH in every moment!  You are a sweet, thoughtful soul!

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Book, Boys, Family, psychology

Be Conscious of Your Children’s Brain

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Whew, I got hit over the head this morning. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

We are pretty conscious of what we allow our children to see and read. We got rid of the television when our oldest son was six months old mostly due to advertising and my addiction to reality tv. We also limit our boys computer time and tend to stick to shows in the two to four year old category on Netflix. We also stopped watching Treehouse because of the advertisements that portrayed beautifully perfect unrealistic women.

Here is the story my oldest, JC “wrote” this morning:Image

Here is a book that we got from the library last week:

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We cannot underestimate a child’s brain, the things they take in, the things they remember and what they will do with it.

From a library book, to remembering it one week later and now a story today, my son is a perfect exam.

Now how about those computer games, constant television watching or this book my boys were reading with daddy this morning:

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Book, Boys, Christianity, Family, Flexibility

Be A Declutterer

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I read in the Four Hour Work Week that we only use twenty percent of the things that we have.  Actually Tim Ferriss has an interesting perspective on the 80 20 rule.  Check him out:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_4-Hour_Workweek

The last three weeks, I have spent decluttering and going through our stuff so that we can put our house up for sale.

Here are the results:

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These are the main “kid” areas of our house and they were overflowing with toys.  There were toys on top of shelves, stuffed into corners.  Now everything has a place to go.  We had a great morning of playing and it was amazing to see my boys putting things back into their places (without being asked)!

All this decluttering makes me thinking of the verse in Matthew 16:19 where Jesus says: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  

I want to hold loosely to my stuff on earth because it is only “stuff”.

It is the people in my life that truly matter.  JC running into my arms after Kindergarten with a huge smile.  CC giving me his little smirk as he tells me a joke and baby OC’s squawk as he yells from the top of the bunkbed. Sexy Necks presence as he holds us all together!

Beautiful moments.

 

P.S. Don’t ask me to show you our parents basement where alot of this “stuff” has gone.  I am thinking we should just have a garage sale instead of moving it.  Cann boys, what do you think?

Boys

Be A Half-Day Kindergarten

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Yesterday, I was teaching in the most beautiful Kindergarten class in a middle/upper class area in our town.  These children were self-reflective, ready to learn and just a joy to be with.  In the past, I have worked in rural/inner city schools that struggled with students experiencing poverty and children having many barriers to learning.

My son started Kindergarten this year, and in the past few years Kindergarten has drastically changed.

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A few years ago, a five year old child used to go to school every morning or afternoon for about three hours.  Then the children started going every other day for the full day.  Now the children go every day from 8:30am til 2:30pm, five days per week.

When I got home from teaching these amazing Kindergarten students yesterday, I was pondering these wonderful children.  It seemed that at about 12:30, they needed to go home for a rest or they needed to spread their wings in nature or they needed to just be alone.  It is alot to be with the same people every day, ask anyone who works in an open office environment.

I know that people love full day Kindergarten, their daycare costs have decreased by half.  But I feel very sad that school is compared to daycare.  School is not daycare.  We need to be spending that precious time educating our children with the best practice possible.

Children We can’t learn when we are tired!

Our government must agree with me because when we transitioned from half day to full day Kindergarten the curriculum didn’t change, but now five year olds spend six hours instead of three hours in a four walled classroom with twenty-one other students plus a teacher.

Enough said!

Boys, Family

Be A “B” Watcher

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February 1st, 2012

YEAH, we made it to the start of Winter Carnival!   Whew, the very busy  stretch between Christmas and spring has hit its mid-point.

My middle boy, CC, started screaming after we dropped off his oldest brother at school.  We had to knock on a neighbours door to tell her to come outside to see them.

Our oldest son even got to watch them float on by his window at school.

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The hot air balloons were so close we could hear them!  CC loved the blue one and JC loved the black and orange one.

We all loved standing and watching.  YEAH Carnival is here.

The Queen is crowned and the hot air balloons are flying by.

Added bonus: This year’s the theme is pReHiStOrIc!