Skills I need to teach my Children

It is Tuesday morning already and I am a little worried that today may turn out to be as crazy as yesterday. I always seem to underestimate how long it is going to take me to do something.
Yesterday started out pretty good, I was up early and got things straightened out, but as the morning rolled along, I got a little lazier. Two of the kids had to be at keeper camp by 1:00 and they didn't wake up until 11am. (got to love preteens) I would have lived for a morning sleep in when they were little, but now there is so much to be done and they need to help. We got out the door on time to get the kids there, but they informed me they hadn't eaten any lunch, (on crazy days the big kids get their own) and half way to the turf, Olivia informs me she forgot her cleats. I can believe she could forget her gloves, or ankle guards or even her mouth guard but her cleats? So we drive home and now I know they are going to just make it and believe me, for this keeper coach, you don't want to be late! We actually got to the field where they normally play and the gate is locked,. they are in the lower field and they have to get over the fence. I think I have touched on every life skill with my kids. Or so I thought. My kids cannot climb over a fence. This was not a high fence, but a chain link fence that they could just quickly get themselves over. I think I have sheltered them, or not let them out of my sight enough to let them master this skill. It took them almost 15 minutes to navigate their way over. Mark was scared to catch his whoo hoo which I get, and Olivia was scared to do damage to the fence. That is the first born in her, but I would love her to lose a little of her Type A once in a while. This was one of those moments. The other kids who were a little on the edge of being late too, just heisted themselves over and away they went, they didn't want the "wrath of George". I am driving them to the lower field today and we are going to be there 20 min early just in case the gate is locked and they have to do a little fence navigating. I think I need to get them some lessons...

Wouldn't it be Nice

I am really just writing in order to avoid the mess of the laundry upstairs. I have had one excuse after another not to do the laundry this week. We got home on Monday night from Nova Scotia and had to be out the door in 15 min after we arrived, got home too late that night. Tuesday was filled with errands and catch upon phone calls and appts and just getting the house back in order. I have to do that in order to be able to put the clean laundry away. Wednesday I was back to babysitting and had 3 extras and we went to the petting zoo and then home again for ice cream. Oh, I ran some errands with the 7 kids and when we got home we just got ready to go to beulah that night. Wednesday night, went to Beulah, so once again, no laundry done. Thursday was the babysitting routine again and Olivia was babysitting at the neighbors so she couldn't help watch the kids while I was up in the bathroom sorting. Friday I unexpectedly had one of my kids come over for the afternoon and my garden and front lawn was calling my name. I spent most of the day there,and last night, after a later supper, one of my best friends who now lives away came over for a visit with her girls. Once more no laundry. Here it is 4:30 on Saturday afternoon and I am still looking for excuses. Wouldn't it be nice to have children who when they saw the laundry piles in the bathroom would decide to help mommy out. It is not just the washing and drying, it is the folding and putting away. I need to make a deal with my family members, I do the washing and drying and I will even do the folding, but I am not going to put it away. Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a little laundry fairy just like the tooth fairy who comes in the night to do our laundry. I wonder what I would have to put under my pillow in order for her to come? Maybe a little tide free...

Family

We went to Beulah last night and got to spend some time with Jason's cousin's family. It was so nice. Jason's side of the family had a rough year. Jason's Grammy Merle passed, then his Uncle Melvin and just shortly after his Uncle Merle. Life just passes so quickly and we never really know how much time we have. I am so lucky to still have three of my grandparents still living and really thriving. Grampy had a stroke a couple of years ago, but is still able to enjoy life even with all of the changes that have taken place in their lives. I think we all know that we are getting older, but we don't adequately prepare ourselves for the changes that take place in our older age. I think I have said "Jason, I don't want to get old" so many times in the last couple of weeks. I know I need to learn to "embrace change". I need to get working on that now so in 25 or 30 years I will be prepared. It is a slow process this aging thing, but it happens so fast. Being 35, I am really almost middle age. Wow. I feel like I have lived an entire lifetime already. So many wonderful and difficult things, but all growing experiences. I am just thankful that I get to experience life with a fantastic partner in crime. Jason and I have really grown up together, great life behind us, great life ahead of us. We want to make the most of our family times together. Life is good...just going to get better.

Summertime

It seemed as though we may not really have a summer. Rainy, cool days are what we had for a lot of May and June. Technically summer doesn't start til the end of June, but really the summer calendar of activities begins in May. Summer activities begin, and Winter activities end.
It usually takes a couple of weeks for our family to adjust to the new summer schedule or lack of schedule I guess. I was so excited not to have to make bag lunches for the kids and then about two days into summer holidays, I was ready for the kids to go back to school. They get antsy the first week, not seeing their friends everyday, they are bored or so they think. They are still on the school schedule of go go go. It takes a bit to re-adjust. I think we are in a good groove now. Just got back from Nova Scotia and walked way out with the boys on low tide. You can walk forever in Grand Pre. We found a stingray that had met it's maker. Nathan my brave one picked it up by the body and carried it up the rocks to show their prize to anyone who would look. After about 5 seconds it began to stink and the flies totally covered it. Needless to say, it didn't come home with us. It just went back to the ocean where it came from. We had a great weekend away with our new family: Olivia's soccer team. We see each other more than we see our own family these days, but it has been so nice to spend time with such great people. This is our summer family, but looking forward to being with our fall,winter spring family again. We promise we didn't disappear! Summer disappear before our eyes, and I don't want to miss a minute of it. Got to get working on that tan...

Saturdays

Friday nights we go to bed with so many expectations of what needs to be done. We have become the quintessential soccer family this year. Our oldest daughter Olivia plays top level soccer and has three practices plus two games every weekend. This weekend she doesn't have any games, it is a break week in the schedule. Mark our ten year old plays one game on Mondays and practice on Wednesday nights. Nathan who is eight, plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Little Paige the four year old, plays on Monday night with her Dad as her coach. Jason plays softball on Friday nights and sometimes after his double header, he umps for another double header. (It helps to pay for indoor soccer in the winter) All of this soccer takes place in the evening hours somewhere in the middle of suppertime and bedtime. Right after a long work day. All this being said we land on Saturdays completely exhausted from the week. We are supposed to be revitalizing ourselves, but instead we are changing beds linens, weed whacking, vacuuming and all of the other things all people around the world are doing on Saturdays. One week I would love to have all of the work done so that on one of the two Saturdays we have free this summer we can just get up and say "let's go somewhere for the day!" Those were the good ol' days when Daddy didn't have his own business, and mommy didn't babysit kids. I have got to say though, life is pretty good. We are together and we are going to go out for a family bike ride in between our Saturday chores. I just hope I can make it up those hills...

Someone save me

I think if anyone had really told me what having four children entailed, I would have given up before I started. I remember specifically praying that time would hurry up and my first three kids would be 12, 10 and 8. At that time, they were 4,2 and under 6 months. My prayer was not answered, but time did go quickly and I have learned one major thing. Little children, little problems. Big children, big problems. Cherish the poopy diaper and the mess in the kitchen. Sooner than you know, it will be menstrual cramps broken bones. My children who are now 12,10,8 and 4 have a lot more to say than I do most of the time. What they have to say is not always intelligent or always kind, but you can't pay for that kind of entertainment. Hollywood can't make up this kind of "real life" stuff. My dear little Paige who is 4 and is really pretty sheltered from the world I guess, was talking with her great Aunt at the Family Reunion last weekend. Auntie M, we will call her proceeded to light her cigarette. Paige asked her dear Auntie M what she had in her mouth. She sheepishly told her it was yucky and dirty, but didn't give her the answer she was looking for. Paige's curiosity was not curtailed so she asked her Grammy Clara if she was lighting a candle! I don't know if Paige really got her answer, but I am not heartbroken my sweet girl doesn't know what a cigarette is. I want to celebrate that my kids still have some innocence. They will be inducted to this world at some point, but for now, I want to keep this little cocoon that we are in even if the ones I share it with drive me crazy.