Food for Thought

We’re lucky, I suppose. Our kids are pretty good eaters. Thanks to Grandma instituting “thank you bites” they will even try at least one bite of absolutely anything. Little E has been our pickiest and trickiest eater. The boy refuses to eat meat and most vegetables. Meat especially. As much as I try to disguise and bury it in dishes, his little tongue will distinguish it and spit it out while swallowing the rest of whatever may be in the meal. Surprisingly he is still a pretty good sized kid… but I think I know why. Mr. Man has these kids eating out of his hand. If he feeds them they WILL eat ANYTHING. Strangest thing, why a two and three year old would enjoy this, I don’t know, but they love it! They have migrated from my end of the table to his and at some point into dinner the cries of “feed me Daddy” can be heard from every angle. Last night we had a rice dish, and since we had our “China” country night with chopsticks, the kids have insisted on using chopsticks each time we have rice. I couldn’t help but snap a picture when Mr. Man obliged and was feeding the two boys simultaneously with chopsticks!!! (But, as you can see, even Little E ate the meat!)

***Note the goose egg on Little E’s forehead in the dinner shot too! It actually looks a lot better here, but the poor boy nearly lost it running with his full body weight into the wall yesterday!

Everything I know about Life I learned at Skating Lessons

When you fall, it hurts.

It’s cold on the ice; get back up when you fall.

Inevitably you will fall again – because you will keep trying to do more difficult things.

Falling is okay.

Get on one knee, support yourself and stand up again.

You WILL succeed!

Overheard

As usual, the three kids are attacking Mr. Man in every possible way, trying to wrestle, tickle, kick, play - get his attention... Mr. Man tried to get out of it before succombing. In the midst of their fiasco, this is what I heard:

"You are in violoation of the Daddy penal code, violation number 84268: unlawful licking of Daddy's cheek. You must be terminated."

The sentences are continuing to be dished out...

Snow Much Fun!

Flu & Blue

We have the flu at our house. It came on rather suddenly and doesn’t seem to be letting go anytime soon. Big J got it Monday and hopefully will be back at school tomorrow. She was letting loose out of both ends and thankfully made it to the toilet every time except the first when she claims she thought she was “just tooting”! Mr. Man got it today, which is strange since he was home the least with all the germs escaping between my sanitizing freak-outs. He was teaching two classes today and it hit just after he finished the first. I was scared for him to teach the second, but always the Man he refused to call it quits, claiming that there was a bathroom just down the hall should he need it and that he had already noted that he should turn off his mic before leaving the classroom should an emergency strike! The boys are starting to get on my nerves and I pray nobody else gets sick because I HAVE GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE! Selfish, I know, but when I did sneak out at one point today I saved myself hundreds at an Old Navy sale on clothes for next year and know there are more out there like that calling my name. Ultimately, I’ve hit the January blues. I feel the immense lack of excitement and pizzazz in my life and am searching diligently for it. For instance, I started reading a book recommended and borrowed from a good friend that has absolutely nothing to do with parenting. But I need MORE! I’m bored here guys! I need a challenge and something exciting to lure me out of this conundrum. What are you all doing to keep the January blues at bay?

Reminiscing

I just finished reading a great book about motherhood written by a mother of nine. What made this book even more amusing was that this was the second edition. The author originally wrote the book as a young mother, and has now gone back as a grandmother and with only two teenagers left at home, to edit and remark on her earlier remarks. Her comments at her own strategies are amusing; sometimes she wonders what she was thinking and laughs at the complete ridiculousness of her crazy plans and life, other times she startles herself with her valuable insights and realizations. While I had an enjoyable time capturing a glimpse into this mother and family’s life (and even gathered some parenting tips), I’ve also found myself reminiscing on my earlier mothering moments. While I only have a short 6 years under my belt, I still find it amazing all that I’ve been through and how much I’ve learned and grown because of them.

My sister is about to have her first baby. What an incredible time, and what a nasty initiation into motherhood! Hindsight is a wonderful thing… and looking back to my first few months and years as a mother, there are numerous things I would change if I could. But I did the best I could – despite and maybe because I was so new at this thing called mothering. When trying to pinpoint the hardest time of being a mother, my mind fills with periods of peril. Severe postpartum depression, having a three year old and one year old and a newborn at the age of 23, times of sickness and pregnancy seem to top the board. I have awful memories of Mr. T and I having the chicken pox just weeks before Little E was born. And then just a week after he was born, the two little boys and I had hand foot mouth disease and I rotated putting one baby in the swing for 20 minutes while I rocked the other and then switched. That summer was definitely a summer of misery as I had a seriously colicky baby, our engine died on our car, Mr. Man was commuting far to far and I was packing up to move to an unfamiliar town void of friends and family. And yet looking back, though I groan inwardly, I also am grateful for those moments I was forced to hold my little boys, to slow down and cuddle when I myself needed a hug. Amidst all the hard days I have recorded so dedicatedly in my journals, I have memories of wonderful moments watching my children on the slip and slide and loving that they were 1, 2, and 4 respectively and loving the stages and ages we were enjoying so much. I enjoy the constant challenges and daily oppourtunities being a mother grant me. Nothing you read can really prepare you for the hands on experiences, only time can really teach you what all the parenting magazines and books promise and swear by. I’ve learned, after 6 years, that when you try and try to change your child and it still won’t work, you should probably look at changing your parenting technique!

Sometimes I feel like I should wake up and just pour a half gallon of milk on my floor – so that then it’s done and over with for the day! But instead I’ve learned to keep a steady supply of paper towels, a smile on my face and to enjoy the fact that my children now exclaim calmly, “My milk spilled, Mommy, can I have some more please?” Oh, how I have changed.

Parenting my 6 going on 16 Year Old!

This little girl came down well after her bedtime the other night all bedazzled! I asked her where she came up with such an outfit - she shrugged, giggled and said "I just thought it up!" The same child received a clock/radio/cd player for Christmas - and we cannot believe how loudly she can blare "Amazing Grace" or the "Anastasia" soundtrack!!! Still my saving grace is when I tuck her in at night and she makes a comment like this one: "It's really nice to have parents, you know. They help you a lot." I hope when she is 16 she'll still feel that way.

My Imminent Naturalization

When Mr. Man and I decided to get married, I was fully aware that he had lived in the States for the last several years, but I didn’t think I could go wrong marrying a “Canadian”. We had several immigration issues to sort through even during our engagement and given the time frame, we had even created a Plan B which was to marry in Canada and live there instead of going Mr. Man’s route with the visas and back out to Hawaii for school. I was sure Plan A would fail and that I would happily stay in my country. As much as I dragged my feet, as slow as the consulate was… Plan A worked out. Mr. Man had promised we would be in the States for one semester, at which time we would apply to Canadian schools and return to our home and native land. The past 7 years have been the longest semester of my life!

I started out with a fiancée visa, paid more than enough money, and visits to immigration officials (proving I wasn’t just married to “get” in the country) and soon became an alien and a conditional permanent resident. Not long ago I was able to get the “conditional” status removed and I am now proudly a permanent resident. However, every time we cross the border or when I happen to leave the country without Mr. Man, issues arise. Mr. Man has to write to give permission for me to take “his” children out of the country. Now that I have children in school, I feel a large obligation to be a part of the voting community… but I can’t, nor have I ever. As the years pass and the border patrol becomes more strict, we worry about our family becoming separated due to our differing passports and citizenship status’. Every time we get worried and know that, in reality, and for the best interest of our family, I must become an American citizen, I look into the application process, the test that has to be taken and the oath that I must repeat while renouncing my Canadian citizenship. And then my heart sinks, because I just don’t know if I can do it.

Mr. Man says I’m the only Canadian with this much pride for my country – which, in fact, practically makes me an American. But it’s hard. Could you do it? Renounce your home of birth, your place of origin and agree to stand and fight for another country that still does not feel like home? I used to be extremely pessimistic towards the US – mostly I was homesick – (but Amy and Kai can recall all my unfair statements). As I’ve grown older (and I like to think, more mature) and having moved so frequently across the country, my views and outlook have improved. We have grown to love everywhere we have lived. We have friends across the country and throughout the world. We are very blessed that way. I no longer have my heart set against living in the United States. I’m open to the fact that this may be my life and we’re not just “going to school”here… but still, it’s hard. I’ve been a royal pain to Mr. Man for years about our “country” issue… and I’ve tried to let it go and get over my seriously strong, intense and impossibly enduring feelings of nationality. Why is it such a big issue? Why must I choose? Can’t I just be a “North American” citizen? So we’re facing the issues of passports expiring and looking forward to the continual pain and cost of renewing my permanent residency “green card” and know that my naturalization, though seemingly unnatural, is indeed imminent. I’ve decided it’s too much for me to bear for the time being, but I’m making it a goal for 2008. Because you never know, at that point Mr. Man may graduate and we’ll return to the True, North, Strong and Free.