A Beaver Colony

We went to a meeting last night for the possible creation of a Beaver Colony in the boys' school. Actually, it was Liam (in the 8 - 10 Scouts age group) that was the most interested in the program however, when Aiden realized there was overnight trips he agreed to try things as well.

The inclusion of girls in the program was something that I remember reading about in the media but was not concerned as it had no direct impact on me.

We listened to the regular schtick about why scouting is a good way of life for kids. We were marketed to about how we should step up and get involved in the kids' activities (namely as a leader). However, it was most interesting to hear the group leaders talking afterwards.

It appears that there were 16 potential scouts that came. Four of which were girls. It has been since 1999 that the Scouting movement allowed girls to join. The men were all leaders and they were overwhelmingly supportive of the girls efforts to join in.

In fact, since there are only 13 spaces, three of the kids will not be able to participate (assuming that all kids decide to join). The men agreed that none of the four girls will be declined the opportunity. Interesting that we have moved to a reverse discrimination. But good for the girls.

Be Prepared.

Any idea how to get bar-b-que sauce out of Irish linen?

Next time I am going to buy a plastic table cloth from the Dollar Store.

Issuing an Apology

Grandmaman, I am sorry that I ever doubted you.

You see, I am committed to my all natural, non-chemical solutions to most things in life. At the same time, I fully recognize that they simply do not work.

I have kept my Irish linen table cloth since February when it received a massive red wine stain. It was a heck of a party but no amount of natural cleansers could get that stain out. I even gave in and bought and used bleach. Repeatedly. This table cloth was a wedding present from Ireland. It is special to me. And, with the days of consulting behind me, money no longer grows on trees.

I am having another party tonight. There will be lots more red wine. I could not come to terms with buying another tablecloth, knowing full well that we will all have a little too much to drink. And the tablecloth will not survive. So, I gave in and tried the OxyClean that grandmaman had given me in a little baggy.

The tablecloth and the little baggy had been sitting on my dryer since last February.

OMG - it worked. I doubted that it would work and I doubted the premise that it is a more natural cleanser than bleach. I figured you were wrong on both counts. I have my tablecloth back now though. It is not perfect but you would have to look really closely to see the stain. Something we will not be able to do after a few glasses of the stainer!

Thank you!

Please God

The routine in my life is that I pick up the children from school. Since both schools dismiss at the same time, it is physically impossible for me to be at both on time. I am grateful that I have made arrangements with another family to pick up their daughter and Keegan at 3:20 and then I meet the father walking home with my other two.

The ride from the school home with two 3 year olds is always a hoot. I hear about their versions of events that happened at school. I hear about things in the other little girl's home and I hear about the things they would like to do.

Yesterday, Jayden (the little girl) informed me that she would like to go for a bike ride with Keegan this weekend. I agreed that this could be arranged and we discussed all the people that would be invited. Keegan's older brothers. Jayden's older brother. It was important to Jayden that my husband Todd be invited. Sure, I say. Of course he will come.

At which point Keegan informs Jayden that he cannot come. Sometimes daddy is mean Keegan says. Sometimes he spanks mommy. I almost choked on my tongue. Willing myself not to laugh I ask the obvious question: "where the heck have I been while this is happening?" Throw a pack of Marlboro's in my pocket, add a NASCAR flag flying proudly and we'll be all set.

Please God, let Keegan be SOOO shy at school that this is not a conversation that he has already had with his teachers. Please God. I would hate to have to move.

Proud Mama Moment

School is fairly easy for my kids so far. They are intelligent children with parents that work hard with their activities to support their learning. The consequence is that they are generally in the upper portion of their classroom grading. For my eldest, this is important as in Ontario, grade three is the year for province-wide testing. They want to make sure that the kids in a school in Timmins are getting the same quality of education and results as schools in say, Ottawa.

So, Todd and I were quite surprised that over the course of the last six weeks, Liam has had very little homework. So much so that Todd scheduled a meeting with the teacher. We figured that he was simply not bringing the homework home and therefore it was not getting done.

Imagine my surpise when the teacher showed Todd Liam's work so far in the class. His creative writing was done, and done well. His math tests have come back perfect. No word of a lie: the kid has not made a single mistake on his math so far. In English, he has scored 5/5 on four tests and 3/5 on one test. The teacher says that he is assigned his work and he buckles down and does it. And does it well.

Not that I have ever doubted that he is a bright kid. I know that. Just the same way that every parent KNOWS that their kid is bright. I am just surprised that he is committed. This is the kid that will bargain out of brushing his teeth at night if he thinks he can get away with it.

Todd says that it was grade three where he hit his stride. Before that his teachers thought he was just arrogant :-). By grade three they were calling it precocious. Then gifted. I am not big on labels so I am not going to push for gifted testing. In my eyes, all my children are gifted. I am just glad that he has found his groove. He is doing well and it is a big relief for me.

antics that make you laugh

or something like that.

I went to pick up Keegan from his "school" on Thursday night. I was greeted (nee accosted) by a group of screamin 2.5 - 5 year olds. "Keegan did it. Keegan did it." I wanted to crawl inside a hole before I even got into the classroom area.

It seems (the teacher tells me) that Keegan left the water running in the sink in the bathroom. With a wad of paper in the sink that clogged the drain. And the bathroom is large and outside of the regular school area so it was not noticed. Until the water started to seep into the classroom area.

I would have given my left arm to have been the mother of another child at the school at that moment. ANY OTHER CHILD.

Of course, I apologized. I did not laugh. Then I made excuses. You know, he just turned three. It is easy for someone who JUST TURNED THREE to forget to turn the water off when they leave the bathroom. In my head, I am wondering where the supervision was. But, I know that the curriculum for this school is much more hands off then I choose to be. Of course, I am working with the assumption that this was an accident.

I ask Todd to investigate further when he does the drop off the next morning. It seems that this phenomenon has been a problem at the school for a couple of weeks now. Starting with an older child. It is a right of passage that they transfer this knowledge onto the younger crew. And the teacher mentions, Keegan did it TWICE on Thursday. Not once.

Most of the kids at this school are girls. And most of the kids are extremely docile. Not only would it not occur to them to do this, they would not move from their mats to the washroom without express permission anyway. Ahem, yeah, I have not been blessed with that kind of child. I have the creative, curious and yes, mischevious child that causes grey hairs every time I pick him up at school.

Where is that stone for me to crawl under?

How a Woman's Mind Works

Things are good in the Robinson household. Both my husband and I are employed. There are no financial issues. While there are a few things hopping health wise, there are no major health problems for us. Relatively speaking, we are coping with health issues in the extended family as well and there has been minimal impact on the boys.

Life is Good.

Yet, when my S-I-L was here over the weekend, we hashed out some issues. I love talking with her: she is at the same stage in life with three young kids, trying to get her act together to get back to work. She is a human being who, like me, is trying to figure out this world.

Together, we figured out that university is only 9 years away for my oldest (10 for her oldest). Now, neither family is scraping to make ends meet but, it is difficult to put away a large nest egg for university. We are paying daycare and mortgages, student loans and retirement savings. This financial sandwich stage probably has the least discretionary income than any other point in life.

And so we stress. When I should be celebrating as we pull our mortgage off our debt load, instead I stress. How on earth will we pay for university for three boys, I ask my husband. How???

Oh, to be a man. And a relaxed man at that. His reply is that we always pull through. There is no reason to be stressed. We will chip away at the savings that we need and, in the event that there is not enough savings there, we will rely on debt and just pay it off later.

Womens' brains? We don't work like that. It sure is refreshing though!



Had a wonderful time this weekend Jen. I look forward to seeing which liner you chose and the wonderful "grotto" they are creating in the back.

I wish I could go back

Before I was a parent, I had every confidence that my children would NOT be the children in the grocery store acting out and my children would not be the ones the teachers have to reprimand.

When I had one child, I would be concerned with parents who let the children wander out of arm's reach. I would feel badly for the children whose parents would "ship them off to my house" repeatedly. I figured the parents were at home eating bon-bons with complete disregard to the needs of their children.

Now, with three, I would like to go back to a time when I knew so much. I would like to go back to a time when it would bother me that I have to leave my children unattended, locked in their car seats in the van, while I run inside the house *finally* to pee in private.

I would like to go back to a time when my middlest does not tell me "I didn't ASK you, I TOLD you" when I refuse to serve ice cream for supper. At least it wasn't at school.

The Routine

So, we decided after two unsuccessful attempts at getting a nanny that, basically, I cannot handle not knowing what happens in my house during the day. We have decided on different care options for the boys, based on their needs, on what is available and how things fit with our lifestyle.

Todd and I are switching off shifts: I work from 7 am - 3 pm then race home to get the boys from their respective schools. Todd works from 9:30 - 5:30 and races home for 5:45 for supper. Despite the concerns that we had going in, we seem to have settled into a routine: I have not yet been late for getting the boys and, in fact, now have a trade off going with one of our neighbours where he gets my two oldest from the same school as his son and I pick up his daughter from the same school as my youngest. It stops the Amazing Race of Stress that was going on during the first week and each of the kids is getting home from school with an adult.

Keegan is in the Montessori Program in Ottawa and while it is different from my parenting style, the teachers are kind and the ratio is 1:6 - much better than the school system. He is learning academics as well as social skills in preparation for JK. We have not decided whether or not we will have him continue for JK and SK at the school but we can see how the year progresses.

Aiden is at a girlfriend's house for mornings Tues - Fri. While she only has a daughter at home that is Keegan's age, Aiden is happy to be the leader in the house and she is out every morning at an activity of some sort: from gymnastics to the chocolate factory. On Monday's he has a special day and visits with one of his friends from his class last year. These kids are soul mates and are not in the same class this year so it is nice for them to have a day together.

For Liam, he gets to walk in with a grade six boy. Being in grade three, life could not get any better than that. And, he is picked up by the father mentioned above but they are not even home before I arrive with the other bundle of kids. Effectively, he does not have or need before/after school care and that is great.

We are starting to enlist my sister for help during PD days and we figure between her schedule, and ours, we can cover most PD days and holidays. Todd is going to take off the two weeks at Christmas and I will take off the March break. We are still going to be looking for options in the summer but that is miles away. Who knows what can happen before that point. The nice thing is that every year things will get easier than this year and frankly, going into October, this year is not all that hard.

Whew. There is light at the end of the daycare tunnel!

Going to Try Again

Well, things have settled in our lives finally. We are in a routine so you can expect to see some updates again soon.

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