What We Say

I have been practicing Narrative Elaboration with the kids for as long as I can remember. Knowing how imperative early meaningful discourse is for babies and toddlers to their cognitive development (especially non-present discourse) it has been important to us that we foster these skills early on.

Interestingly, both kids seem to enjoy non-present discourse the most out of the types of communication we carry out throughout a typical day. Since the first three years of life is the most intensive period for acquiring speech and language skills, we had to make the most of the time we had. And did we ever!

Each night, as I tuck little Pea into bed, I lie face to face with him while he recounts the day (with my help). We start with what we had for breakfast then move through the day's events chronologically (an example of non-present discourse). At the end, he tells me what part of the day was his favourite. Lately, and in keeping with the next stage of communication, he makes sure to ask me to tell him what part of the day was my favourite. This exchange of communication, the taking on of my perspective, is indicative of another key milestone in his own language development.

One of the most important language processing tips I learned was from teaching. I once read an almost unbelievable statistic that the time between a question posed by a teacher and the selection of a student to answer that question was a mere 9/10 of a SECOND. Crazy! Since that time, I made a conscious effort to count to 10 before selecting a student to answer a question. Interestingly, the longer I gave the students to think about an answer, the more hands went up to respond. We all need time to process. Some of us need a little longer. So, in keeping with this tactic, I try to give the twins a lot of time to process a question before answering it for them or giving them a consequence for not adjusting behaviour accordingly.

The science of language is fascinating to me and it is staggering to imagine all those neurons firing off in the twins' brains day in and day out. I love this age of emergent reading and language development. It makes me so happy!

Montessori

It is a well-known fact that my goal was to stay home with our children until they were old enough to be enrolled in JK (which meant staying home until September of 2013).  However, when I applied for a third leave of absence, my employer denied it stating that there were too many people waiting in line for my job (true) and that the was a precedence set in the board to only allow two years LOA for any employee.  I didn't like this, but I accepted it after some time.

I gave the twins three full years of being home with me, learning from me, receiving valuable skills and security from me (not to mention all the love, cuddles, hugs and kisses I could give them) and I feel pretty good about where they are in their development.  They are ready, even if I am not, to enter the world of school.

We did some research into the possible care facilities in our area (three that were recommended to us, at least) and tried to keep an open mind with all of them.

The first was a daycare facility just down the road from the high school where I teach.  A few of my current colleagues have their children there and they each raved about how much their children enjoyed it.  I made an appointment to tour the facility and was somewhat disappointed in both the staff and in the facility itself.  Sure there would be catered lunches and I wouldn't have to worry about preparing lunch for the kids, but the room in which they would be all day was small, the windows were above their heads and a college student was singing songs with the toddler group when we visited.  It just didn't seem to "fit" the twins' personalities.

The second was a convent my parents wanted me to check out.  My parents work closely with this particular church and raved about the daycare the nuns ran.  So, my mom and I (and the twins) dropped in one day to see what this care facility was like. As warm and caring as the nuns were, I was disappointed to see that the toddler group was sitting on the floor watching a movie.  The baby group (18-24 month old children) were in a room playing on their own while a nun washed the floor.  The room in which the twins would be all day was bright, but small and had very simple toys.  Again, not a good fit for our kids.

The last option was a Montessori School close to J.'s work and less than a 5 minute drive from our home.  Truthfully, I didn't think we would be able to afford Montessori, but the price difference between the first option and Montessori was a measly $10 a month.  I was shocked.  When the teachers at the Montessori School showed us the activities in which the kids would be engaged, I immediately knew that they would love it there.  The school's activities were very much in tune with those that I have been doing with the kids here at home.  The room was bright, large, full of floor to ceiling windows, and had interesting (and bilingual - which is very important to us) activities and posters around.  The play yard was beautifully landscaped and the toys were engaging as well.  We were shown the gymnasium on the upper level and it was HUGE. The twins didn't want to leave when our tour was over and this spoke volumes relevant to their comfort.  It was a no-brainer as it was the only place I visited in which I felt the kids would be happy and challenged (not to mention cared for in the best possible way).  Lunch is not provided (they serve a hot lunch twice a week for a small fee) but I was happy about this because of the nature of our kids' diets.  I would be able to provide them the proper nutrition I know they need and wouldn't worry about them being served processed junk.

So, come Fall, I will be back to teaching full time and the kids will be in school from 9am until 3:30pm every day.  They will be three years old by then and more than ready to start a new chapter in their lives.  Not sure if I feel the same about me.

Changes

We've been immersed in potty training Pea these last two weeks and things have gone very well.  The only setback we encountered was when we'd put him in underwear.  Thinking it was a diaper, he thought he could use it as such.  It took a few days of consistency for him to finally comprehend what the underwear was for, but we think he's finally got it.  We've been accident-free for three days and counting!  This morning, he woke up with a completely dry diaper, to boot.  What a boy!

Chick has been completely soother-free for almost two weeks. She used to only get it for naps and at bedtime and then once she was asleep, we'd take it away from her. Now, using the cold-turkey method, she no longer gets it at all.  She is struggling with getting to sleep as a result, but we will persevere. She gets up and out of her bed several times at nap and bedtime and this is causing frustration on all of our parts.

Due to Pea's sleep issues, I always, always rocked him to sleep for naps and at bedtime.  When we decided to take away Chick's soothers we also made the decision to no longer rock Pea to sleep.  Oh, man.  It took three days of Pea bawling in his bed and screaming for me for over 45 minutes, but finally he figured out how to get to sleep on his own and stay asleep.  He is currently chatting away in his bed while he tries to soothe himself to sleep.  No more tears.  His only request now is that I keep the door open.  No problem, my love.

So, a lot of changes are happening around these parts.  None of them easy, but all will be worth it in the end. 

New Year's Eve

The years seem to be flying by at lightning speed and life just keeps getting better and better. I was cuddling with Chick last night, drawing circles on her palm, rubbing her back, and tickling her feet. It hit me in that moment when I realized how long it took my hand to travel from her palm to her toes; she's a little girl and no longer a little baby (though, as her mother, I will always reserve the right to call her my baby). When did that happen?

Toddlerhood is fun. Very fun. The communication, the silliness and the leaps and bounds each child is making in development is staggering. It also has its moments of challenge - particularly for my feisty girl who is learning, slowly, who is boss (though she wishes it were her).

We will spend this evening with a host of our wonderful friends and I couldn't think of a better way to bring in the new year than by watching all of our children (whom we all worked so hard to have) play and giggle together. It's certainly a dream come true for all of us.

Happy New Year, everyone!

New Year's Eve 2010
New Year's Eve 2009
New Year's Eve 2008
New Year's Eve 2007

Play Room

Years ago, when J. finished the basement, we had visions of someday watching little ones play amid toys and games.  Sometimes, I still can't believe that we are living our fairytale.  It's amazing.

This is what is seen when at the bottom of the stairs looking into the playroom. Poor Bear rarely gets a moment's peace.

We moved Chick's bookshelf that J. built from her room to the basement to accommodate her new double bed.

Our alphabet wall. This is the wall I eventually want to paint using Idea Paint (a whiteboard paint).

Moving into the playroom.

I thought about cleaning the place up a little before taking pictures, but that wouldn't be a realistic portrait of what it looks like on a daily basis.

This little contraption holds all of our wet paint crafts until they're dry.  I love it!

Pea serenading me with a very shrill recorder.

Our circle time calender wall. The kids love running upstairs to see what the weather is like, then run back downstairs to turn the little spinner to the right conditions.

Typical scene.

The other side of the room that isn't getting much use at the moment.  We will be turning this area into a craft/music/learning area.

More play.

On the main support for the house, we track the kids' heights.  We've been doing so since they were just over a year old. This is Pea's side.

 Chick's side.

The kids love playing down here, but seldom do so unless J. or I are with them.  Hopefully, in time, we'll be able to move all of their toys out of the other areas of the house and into their playroom.  Because, let's face it, our entire house is their "playroom" at the moment.

Fill Their Hearts

When I was in grade eight, I had a friend named Stacy who was hilarious and fun to be around. I remember we used to get into a lot of trouble in class because of our non-stop chatting and laughing. One weekend, she invited me over to her house to work on a project together. Her house was lovely, comfortable and spacious.

When she took me up to her room, my mouth dropped open at the beauty inside. Her large room was overflowing with everything a teenager could ever want.The walls were bathed in pink, her lacy pink bedding sat atop a canopied bed, toys, books, and games filled a large bookshelf on the other side of the room and there was even a small make-up table in one corner. She definitely had everything in there she could ever want.

Later in the afternoon, Stacy took me to her brother's room.I can't remember why we went, but I remember feeling very sorry for him the instant we walked in. There was a single bed in the center of the room and one nightstand with a lamp and a clock on it. That's it.Nothing hung on his blue walls, his bedding was plain and, in stark contrast to Stacy's room, it was quite devoid of any of the loving details afforded to her.

I didn't say anything to her at the time, but later on in the day, I worked up the courage to ask why her brother's room was so empty. She looked at me and without missing a beat she said,

"I get everything I want out here," extending her arms outward toward all the stuff in her room. Then, resting one hand on her heart, she continued, "Ryan gets everything he wants in here".

I'll never forget that moment nor how her eyes looked when she scanned her room. Never.

I want to fill my kids' hearts with love, courage and confidence and I want to remember that kids always know the difference between material love and real love.

Halloween 2011

In the weeks preceding Halloween, Chick and Pea wore their costumes (the same costumes they wore last year - because they still fit and because I hate shopping) over and over again.  Begging me, they would take my hand and lead me to where the costumes were hanging and then in sugary sweet voices ask me to put them on for them.  They were so super-excited for Halloween to arrive and were so well-versed in the whole "Trick or Treat"  mantra that when I took Pea to get his haircut, they greeted the stylist at the door with it.
Let me first say this:  Halloween is not an Introvert-Friendly occasion.  While I looked forward to the evening for the kids, I was half-dreading having to come face to face with so many people. Okay, I was fully dreading it.  I made some mistakes, too, that made the evening a little more precarious.

1.  I fed my kids spaghetti for dinner.  There are a couple of problems with this scenario.  My children are two years old.  Spaghetti + twin two year old children = FOREVER to finish eating.  We were supposed to be at my parents' house for 6:00pm and I didn't want to be late.  Also, I didn't want to be in our house when neighbourhood kids began Trick or Treating.
I watched the twins play with their "snakes" with my jaw clenched trying to remember that the evening is a "journey and not a destination".  Each time the little vein popped out on my forehead, J. would top up my wine glass.  He's a good man. When Chick began stringing her spaghetti through her hair, I had my first dizzy spell.  Which leads to the second problem with making spaghetti for dinner: the mess.  Cleaning up spaghetti strands out of kids' noses, hair and belly buttons takes time.  Thankfully, J. took on the clean-up while I loaded up the car with costumes and other accoutrements for the evening.

2.  Joel had the task of bringing the kids to the various neighbours' doors while I stayed on the sidewalk with the camera.  This way, I envisioned, I could escape having to chat up the neighbours at the doors.  Sadly, what I didn't envision was that other parents would be waiting on the sidewalk as well.  My awkwardness in social situations is sub par at best, but in the midst of anxiety-inducing darkness, zombies everywhere, and strange music beating out of the backs of trucks in pumpkin lit driveways, my awkwardness was amplified.

3.  Is there a freaking trick or treat bag that isn't booby trapped? Last year, we gave the kids a little bowl-shaped basket type deal that we thought was perfect.  Except, with mittens on and big costumed clad arms, the kids' covered the opening every time they held it out for their treats to be plopped in.  This year, the only alternative I could find (aside from pillow cases) were reusable bags that were taller than the kids.  Do you think the kids could open them?  It took twice as long as we thought to get through the houses on the streets because the kids couldn't open their bags, the neighbours had to awkwardly slide the candy into the bags then look at us with disapproving smirks. Like, 'If your kids can't even open their bags, stay home," smirks.

4. We brought the kids to their grandparents' neighbourhood to Trick or Treat.  My parents think that the sun rises and sets with the twins.  They love them to death and would do anything for them.  Anything including plying them with gobs of sugary treats in the late evening before sending them home with us.  Chick and Pea now think Gramma and Grampa are drug lords of candy.  Since Halloween, when we say we are going to visit, Chick and Pea's eyes glaze over, their little hands begin to shake and they chant, "Gramma, Grampa Halloween Trick or Treat! Gramma Grampa, Halloween Trick or Treat!".  I swear I think my dad keeps handfuls of smarties in his pockets and slips the kids a few every few minutes while we are there.

And now, some pictures.

Since Halloween, life has been busier than ever.  I'm not sure if it's just been a busier week, or if life is taking a turn in that general direction.  I suspect the latter.  I have much about which to write, but by the time the kids are asleep for the night, I'm back to sitting and staring.

CSA Update

As our first CSA season comes to an end in the next few weeks, I am already thinking about how we will move forward for next season. While we have enjoyed the CSA and have expanded our tastes and recipes, I don't think we'll be investing in another CSA in the spring. What we will do instead is purchase all of our vegetables and fruit from the same organic farm at our local farmer's market (which is open every Friday between April and October). This way, we will get more bang for our buck by purchasing the specific vegetables and fruits that we know we enjoy and we will purchase the amount that suits our family. I am more excited than ever to be part of this particular organic farm and have loved providing my family (and extended family and friends who have reaped the benefits of our overflow) with wholesome, unprocessed, pesticide-free, and cruelty-free food.
This morning, the twins and I headed up to the farm to pick up our third to last CSA bin and dozen eggs. Before we left, the kids had some fun in the play area.

There are usually chickens roaming the driveway and the play area.  We didn't see any today, sadly.

This boy loves tractors!

And shovels.

You're doing it wrong, Chick!

Loving this rocking horse.

The twins were so happy (as they usually are) in the swings.  They were giggling the whole time.

Case in point.

Etc.

Soulful.