Celebrate

Taxes are done with hours - HOURS - to spare. It is clearly time to celebrate writing that gigantic cheque to the government. America's Next Top Model and wine. Classic entertainment.

They certainly do boost my self confidence

Jack: Mummy, why do ladies have to wear necklaces?

Me: They don't have to; they just wear them because they're pretty.

Jack (looking at my neck, rolls eyes): Well, not THAT one.

House Rules

Mike was trying to fix our router today. Not exactly news-worthy except for the fact that his battle with the router prompted this addition to the House Rules posted on the fridge. And on the front door, and on each of the boys' doors. Ethan edited all four copies! The boys (and especially Jack) are behaving horribly lately. I have no idea where we've screwed up so badly, but I'm at the end of my rope. We'll see how these House Rules go. I'll update soon on the parenting fail.

And Again, I Spoke Too Soon

Remember last week, when I posted this?
"Jack is also performing well in class, and I admire his teacher to no end for keeping the Silly in check for 2-1/2 hours daily. Also, I may be jinxing myself here, but we are now in April and we haven't been called to the principal's office YET on account of Jack's behaviour. Please keep your fingers crossed that my kindergartner can hold it together until June."

Yeah.

Well.

Not even two days later, I'm beckoned over at Kindergarten pickup. RUH-Roh, as Scooby would say. Turns out Jack was so disruptive in class that he had to work in the hallway. So, not quite the principal's office, but he's on verrry thin ice.

So me and Madame, we talk to Jack. Does he understand what it means to work in the hallway? Yes, he says, it means he's closer to the bathroom in case he needs to go. NNnnnooo, we say, it means you have been too naughty to stay in class. It means you are not being fair to the other kids if you don't let them learn. It means you need to behave a lot better in school because school is a place to learn. Oh, OK, says Jack.

But has he gotten it? Really? I don't think so. So I get Ethan to talk to Jack. Ethan takes it very seriously and closes me and Mike out on the other side of the kitchen door. We try to eavesdrop but all we can hear is: Do you understand, Jack? I SAID Do you understand?

Ethan comes out and says, Well, he didn't get it the first time, but I think he gets it now. I DID have to ask him twice though.

And he rolls his eyes in a conspiratorial co-parent kind of way. Boys. What're you gonna do? Right Mummy?

Right.

---------------------------------

Just to completely switch tracks here - I know I'm late to the party, but I love Glee! If you're not watching it, you should be. It cracks me up!

Ugh

I have eaten almost a whole box of Girl Guide cookies while watching PVR. It happened to be Jamie Oliver and his Food Revolution. I think I have missed the point.

Spring 2010

Happy Easter everyone!
I would like to start a new chapter in our lives called: "No Excuses". I'm not going to make any more excuses for why we can't fit something into our schedules, or why I need to sit down with a(nother) cup of tea. We are a busy young family and we have REASONS why we can't accommodate everything. NOT excuses. So there.

I am also not going to accept any more excuses from the young 'uns.

I'm sorry, but WHAT broken arm, Mister Jack? If you can somehow scale the fridge to access the candy contraband on top, I am NOT going to believe you when you say you can't pull the sheets into place on your bed. Not rocket science, kid.

And Ethan, you are too smart for me to accept the fact that you forgot to mention you had homework. Just because I'm not home until late Tuesday nights doesn't mean you get a "bye" in the dictee practice. Pull out your Agenda and show Daddy, you big 7-yr-old, you. Even though he can't speak French well, he can still help you.

Big breath.

OK, so the past few weeks have been lots of fun. Spring break was perfect this year. The two weeks with the kids came at the perfect time for me, having just returned from Whistler and the month away. It was awesome to reconnect and spend time with them without having to yell at them to get them out the door to school. Somehow, it's not so stressful when you're getting them to shoe and coat themselves prior to going to a playdate. Or visiting the new baby girl cousin. Or going for a walk to the beach. Still, after spring break is always the time that I start looking at summer camps in earnest. I realize my limitations, and full-time entertainer for two months to two active boys is WAY beyond my skill set.

We are all looking forward to summer camps and camping with the cousins, but also the last few months of school are very exciting for the kids. They are both doing well at school. Ethan is a natural student and does great in class. Jack is also performing well in class, and I admire his teacher to no end for keeping the Silly in check for 2-1/2 hours daily. Also, I may be jinxing myself here, but we are now in April and we haven't been called to the principal's office YET on account of Jack's behaviour. Please keep your fingers crossed that my kindergartner can hold it together until June.

Last week he got in trouble for kissing a girl and making her cry. I am SO not making that up. She is a lovely girl, and she is a special friend to Jack, but she didn't welcome the smooch in class. Madame spoke to the class about boundaries and who/when it is appropriate to kiss, and hopefully it stops there.

Ethan struggles with public perception. By that I mean that he is always afraid of looking silly in front of others. He will now sing at Christmas concerts, and speak in front of the class, and even perform in the class plays in front of parents. He is confident in front of us. But sometimes, he decides that something will make him look dumb, and he digs his heels in and will NOT participate. It happened last week with dancing in gym class. Usually it's things like Crazy Hair Day or Pyjama Day that he won't do. But he is doing way more this year than he has ever done before, so slowly we are working with him through his public confidence issues.

I pranked them on April Fool's Day by freezing their toothbrushes in a block of ice, and then demanding they brush their teeth NOW or we'd be late for school. It was awesome! And the whole point was to prove to Ethan that pranks can be harmless. He had been anxious to go to school that day in case people pranked him. He relaxed after he realized that pranks can be funny, too. It only took a few minutes to thaw the toothbrushes out!

Easter was fun. And by "fun" I mean that they woke us up at 6:30 to hunt for eggs, then demanded candy every 2 minutes before giving up by lunchtime. Jack also picked the lock on the bathroom and peed in the toilet right beside my head as I tried to relax in the bath. They do not understand privacy and are truly puzzled when I say I would like to have a bath by myself. Jack says, "But Mummy, you will be BORED without me!" Yeah, right. They repeated their egg hunt about ten times during the day. They re-hid every egg in the exact place they had found it, and then re-found them with great excitement. They also took great delight in messing up every room just as I had finished cleaning it prior to my parents and brother arriving for Easter dinner. I had to leave the house mid-afternoon on a 45 minute time-out because it is certainly not cool to hate everyone in your house on Easter.

Dinner was yummy and the eggs looked pretty. And today, we relax.