Jackie's book list

My brother Greg texted me the end of August - he said he that at that time of year, he generally like to go back over the year and see how many and what books he has read that year. He asked us about the books we had read - and I tried to make a list ( which was abominably - 12 I think). Jackie and Alice had no way of remembering all the books they had read - they read a lot. 

Jackie vowed that next year she will be prepared - so she is keeping of track of the books she is reading. This is her September list.

Snow,
Dive - the Deep
Dive - the Danger
Island - Shipwreck ( All of the above are by Gordon Korman)
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle ( which I made her read because it was her Aunt Mary's favourite book when she was Jackie's age.)
Hunter by Eric Walters ( who she met at the Young Writer's conference)
The Magicians Nephew - C.S. Lewis.
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier  ( a graphic novel for kids)

My September books were:

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper ( yup - read it because I wanted to see the movie because Tina Fey is in the movie. Haven't seen the movie yet)
It starts with Food - the Whole 30 book.

Alice read the first two Narnia books and at least three but maybe more Dragon Lance books recommended by her Dad.

It is lovely that I have such great readers - though sometimes I have to kick them outside.

How to start middle school - Jackie style

A Haiku for Back to School by Jackie Rasmussen

 

School is starting too fast

My paper cuts are plenty

And homework means DOOM!

 

 

Her haiku sounds negative, but in actuality, Jackie was super excited about starting school this year. Even more excited than she normally is. Something about starting at a great big middle school where she would have her own locker, with her own combination lock - and so many new teachers to impress that made her extra keen this year. The early dismissal on Fridays doesn't hurt either. 

 

Now - three weeks in, she is still loving it - though in her opinion her teachers give a little too much homework.  Her haiku was foreshadowing. Jackie looks great every - here is her back to school photo shoot.  

 Tunic - Gap Factory Store, Jeans - hand me downs already in her closet, and the most exciting item - boots from Target. Jackie had enough money for fancy boots in her back to school shopping budget because she used so many hand me downs this year ( from Alice and one of Alice's friends)

Denim button-up - Joe Fresh, Coloured Jeans - Australia Target ( yes, she has been wearing them for 1 year and a half - they used to be baggy long pants and now they are skinny capris.

 

This butterfly shirt from the gap factory store was Jackie's biggest bargain.  it was only 4 dollars and we love how long it is.

 

On the first day of school we waved her hair and she opted for the denim shirt. Her Dad took her to school and took the official picture, I had to make due with this paparazzi shot as she walked to the car.

 



 

 

 Here she is after completing the first week of school. She is wearing my favourite hand me down sweatshirt from Alice, and she is holding her cool school  white board binder and new backpack . She is also wearing the sun glasses all the grade 5 were given on the first day - little did we know then what terrible weather was coming the very next week. 

Update on the girls

Here is a selection from some family pictures. It may not be the best picture seeing as I am sporting a double chin, Andrew has a red infected eye, Eve looks belligerent, Jackie has hair in her face, only Alice looks great, albeit uncharacteristically sweet. Anyway - I love any picture that has all these people in it. They are my favourite.

Here is section of an email I sent my family this week. Since it contains an update of all of us, I thought I would use it for the blog - that's just the way I roll.

Alice continues to be obsessed with basketball. It is her happy place. She was devastated last week because she did really poorly on a spelling test. Her teacher wrote on her sheet that it was not acceptable. Alice cried and cried and cried, and didn’t really recover until we were home and she was able to shoot some hoops. I am happy she has that “happy place” but I also suggested perhaps studying a little more? She did better this week so I guess I shouldn’t worry. Unfortunately in regards to spelling and attention to details in her school work she takes after me. I have told her if she figures out how to not make those kind of mistakes then she should let me know.

Jackie is doing well. She loves piano and creating things with recyclables so sometimes her bedroom looks like she’s a hoarder. I have heard her say that she hates garbage day because there is no recycling in the house and therefore nothing to do. She had so much fun at Elise birthday party this weekend, but agonized over what she was going to wear. She was crying for half an hour before we left the house. It was crazy, but once she finally decided what dress to wear ( she was supposed to dress like a movie star) and got over the fact that no matter what we did, her hair was still going to be short – I convinced her to wear it up) she was pleased with her look and super happy. And Andrew and I managed it all without losing it ourselves so that was a plus. She has since talked and talked about how fun the party was and how funny uncle Sam was, she especially liked the game where they all pretended to speak German.

Eve is getting bigger every day, but we have noticed that she enjoys more and more being the “baby” and getting helped with her clothes, the bathroom eating etc. She also enjoys playing baby with Jackie or Alice where one of them is the mom and the other the grandma. Andrew and I are concerned about her “baby” obsession and try to make her do things on her own, and when we do that she either cries or convinces Alice or Jackie to help her out. I think she would be better if there was another baby around, so Erin is you get tired of Charlie, send him over here!. Last week I suggested to the girls when they were all playing house together that instead of having Eve be the baby that she could be the mom in the game. Eve just started whining that she was too small to be the mom and needed a smaller kid to be the baby. The girls went from happily playing to arguing so next time I will either keep my mouth shut or suggest that Eve play the kitty in the game. A responsible Kitty that cleans up after herself. In other news, Eve has developed a love of eating her boogers. We have to fight to get her to eat supper, unless of course it is pizza, but green boogers from her nose are apparently delicious.

Andrew is starting basketball this week .....we will miss him.

Our weekend

Eve: (with a happy face) When I grow up I'll be a mom! (face turns sad) But I'll have to live away from you and have babies in my tummy.

I'm glad she isn't moving away any time soon. She is my sweet little best friend, always wanting to read books or dance together or snuggle and watch a show.

Last Friday the girls and I celebrated the first snow fall of the year my all snuggling together on my bed and watching the Muppet's Christmas Carol (my favourite holiday movie).

Jackie: " This is the movie night I have been praying for since Halloween" (jackie was excited because Andrew let the girls eat the popcorn twists and drink pop they got while trick or treating).

We were all having a great time until the end of the movie, when Eve said she had a tummy ache. Just as Ebeneezer was sending the boy off to buy the prize turkey, Eve threw up all over me and Andrew's side of the bed! Yuck!!

That started "The night of vomit" for Eve, who puked about 12 times. I stayed with her till 11:00, then Andrew took over until 3:00, then I stayed up with her until Alice woke up at 7:00. Needless to say, the weekend didn't go as we had planned, but we made it through and Alice still made her basketball game ( they won 40 to 0 - but turned off the scoreboard for the last quarter) and Jackie made it to her cooking birthday party and she and I went to most of the RS Creative Saturday - just no date for Andrew and I, no working out for me and a lot of extra laundry.

But really Eve was a trooper. She didn't complain at all. She would just say ," my tummy hurts" right before she would throw up, and she was good a aiming in the bucket. She watched hours and hours of backyardagains and laid on the couch all night.

The next morning at breakfast, I told the older girls how good Eve was.

Me: Eve threw up so many times, but she was so good, she never cried or complained.

Alice: Really, she didn't complain at all?

Me: Not at all, she was so brave.

Alice: Maybe she should be sick all the time then.

Me: Alice! that's not nice.

Alice: I'm just saying, that girl complains A LOT - so if being sick helps her not complain...

I could see her point, but the not complaining might have had something to so with the fact that she had a 24 hour dedicated attendant to get her things AND she got to watch her best friends, the Backyardigans all night.

I have to say, the Backyardigans has to be the best preschool show of all time. She has good taste at least. Sunday night, Andrew got sick. He also threw up a lot and tried not to complain. He stayed home from work yesterday. He didn't however, watch as much Backyardagains.

Lady Jacqueline's Medieval Festival a.k.a Jackie's Birthday Party

Jackie - or Jacqueline as she is starting to like being called, decided on a Medieval theme for her party this year. This allowed her and her friend to again have fun dressing up. Jackie's parties always involve dressing up. She was very adamant that this was a medieval party and NOT a princess party and she was NOT dressing up like a princess. She didn't opt to dress up as a peasant with the plaque either, but instead opted for Lady Jacqueline of Rasmussen Manor.

My friend Shaunie found a huge box from a 60 inch TV for us (she was so excited when she told me on the phone that at first I thought she must have won a 60 inch TV). Andrew and the girls turned it into a tower, but we ran out of grey spray paint, so we used what we had around: green and pink.
The weather was amazing, it felt like summer. We did jousting, sword fighting and court jester competition out side.
Here they all are dressed up. Alice and Chloe aren't in this picture because they were busy planning the treasure hunt with Andrew.
Here they are at the feast - which was pretty meager - only cake and candy really. We found enough metal goblets at Value Village for everyone to have one. The first activity was decorating the goblets and then we filled the goblets with candy instead of giving out treat bags. I also couldn't resist buying the candelabra. I think it was 5 dollars well spent because we are sure to use it again. Jackie was very careful when we were looking for things for her birthday party, that we only buy decorations and or costumes that we were sure to use again. She seriously questioned the 2 foam swords I bought, and was only appeased when I pointed out that we could use them as beach toys since they were made out of the same material as the pool noodles ( which we used for jousting).

The party was a great success - especially since I had great help. My sister Anne came to assist and she was AMAZING as usual, letting the kids chase her and helping me keep things running. This allowed Andrew hide in the basement and in the garage which was best for everyone!!! If he had been in charge there may have been a couple of kids that ended up in the stock!!

Since this party, less than a month ago, Jackie has cut her hair and lost her two front teeth. She already looks so much more grown up. We love you so much Jackie and we are so lucky to have you in our family.

Another first

I am not very good at recording the "firsts"of childhood, especially when it comes to Eve. She's number 3 and it's a cliche, but really I wasn't very good at it with Alice or Jackie, I just felt more guilt over it then. Now, I have made peace and so rather than feeling guilty over all the dates I have forgotten and not recorded I instead:

1. focus on giving sooo much love now that they will not require a report of all their significant dates to prove that I love them.

2. Tell them funny stories of what they did when they were babies, over and over, untill they become the stuff legends

3. Encourage them to keep their own journal, even before they can write (delegation: a life saver) and

4. When all else fails, make something up! The Lord blessed me with creativity for a reason , right?

But completely out of character, I am going to record a milestone that Eve reached today. Are you excited? Of course you are!

It is hereby recorded, that on this, the 23 day of June, 2011 that Eve Rasmussen, 2 days shy of her 4th birthday, demonstrated the ability to relentlessly tease a sibling. Yes, today she successfully teased her older sister until she cried. ( without the tears, it doesn't really count)

The tormented sister: a very tired Jackie

The method of teasing: a classic yet effective copy cat. A strategy that is really elegant in it's simplicity.

A yes, this is the first of my children to successfully complete the difficult feat of teasing an older sibling without the experience of teasing a younger sibling, yet even without that valuable experience she still managed to dethrone Jackie, who was in kindergarten when she finally found success with the phras: "I will call up all your friends and tell them not to come to your birthday party".(Obviously, Alice made it hard on Jackie. She had to work for months before she found success, You don't come up with a phrase like that on your first try. )

I didn't hear the whole conversation, but what I heard went something like this:

Jackie: That's annoying

Eve: That's annoying

Jackie: Eve stop it

Eve: Eve stop it

Jackie: Eve, this is so dumb

Eve: Eve, this is so dumb

And, BLAMMO - Jackie burst into tears. (it is fun to say blammo - go ahead and say it out loud - blammo - SEE!)

What was my response? Like any good mother, I gave Jackie a hug and told Eve that she should be nice and not try to be annoying on purpose to upset Jackie. I had to smile at the look of utter satisfaction on Eve's face though. She definitely got what she wanted and I had to say,

"My baby's all grown up and teasing her sister, (sniff sniff)."

So that's the story. Sorry, no pictures. But what would you like, a picture of Jackie crying? Or Eve looking smug?

And now that I think of it, I do not remember ever successfully teasing my older sister. I remember getting teased and then hitting her and then getting in trouble ( that happened a lot). However, I do remember relentlessly teasing my youngest brother with the " you're adopted, we found you on our doorstep when you were a baby". It used to get him every time. Children can be so cruel. Let's hope that Eve sticks with being a copy cat.

Update on the kids

Remember when I used to blog more than once a month? It was so long ago, I can hardly remember? Not sure what is up with my creativity lately,but it is a shame, because life keeps rolling on and I should be recording things. The kids have a PD day today and so we are all still in our PJs - they are trying to catchup on some TV watching that they " just never have time for" - a good time to post something.
Eve:

• Is taking swimming lessons for the first time. Words can not express how excited she was to "be big now". She likes it as long as she has Miss Kayla. When the boy substitute is there, it takes some getting used to.
  
• She plays on a soccer team and just as I thought, she LOVES it. I am the assistant coach for her team. It is really the highlight of my week. U4 soccer is the BEST!!!At this age they just play 3 on 3 and they don't have positions, but she has figured out that the other team can't score if she tends goals, so if she can 't get the ball from the kid that has a breakaway she will high tail it to the goal and looks all ferocious as she kicks the ball away.
• She has finished her preschool and misses it. And keeps asking about going again.
• She can almost do the monkey bars by herself, which both impresses me and freaks me out in equal proportions.
• Her talking is getting more and more clear, but she still pronounces flower, "flowler". I should probably help her learn to say it right, but it is so cute.
• She used to cry when the girls left for school, but now just says every morning, " Mom, now it is just me and you!" She is getting kind of stuck on me. We do a lot of book reading, dancing, puzzles, bike riding, library going and talking about what we will do next. This girls seems to like living by a schedule. If we don't get to do something I have said we will do, she will remind me about it over and over. "Mom, we didn't pull weeds yesterday like you said we would do". As if the weeds weren't reminders enough.
  
• She is obsessed with this "Meet the letters" DVD we got from the library. She always wants to watch it and wants to watch it with me. If I leave during the show to get something, she says things like:" but if you leave you will miss the S that is coming." And when I come back she fills me in on the letters I missed. I am glad that she is so excited about learning her letters, but wonder when she will realize that this DVD is DEAD BORING.
  

News from Jackie:

• She is growing out her bangs and we all think it makes her look older, though once she grows them out and cuts them again, we will all think that her bangs make her look older. Basically any change in hairstyle results in us noticing how grown up she is getting. I have to remind myself she is only 6.
• She has decided that she prefers to be called "Jacqueline" and has learned to spell it. This is of course a hard switch for everyone.
  
• She loves her swimming lessons and is getting better at swimming, though I'm sure it would be easier if she gained a little weight. She is a sinker.
  
• She is doing soccer, and likes it way better then basketball because a) it is outside and you get to run in the spring air and never get hot ( we live in the north) and b) she doesn't worry all the time about the ball hitting her in the head. So far no goals, but she has had some pretty decent breakaways and kicks on goal and has some great coaches.
• She finally, FINALLY got to take home her classes stuffed penguin for the weekend. She was the last kid to take it home, which meant she had to wait 18 agonizing weeks, but it was worth it. She showed that penguin a good time.
• Always the socialite, she is petitioning me to throw a welcome to summer party with all of her class because they all won't be in her class next year ( there are 5 grade 1 classes at her school)
  
• She is going to be moving into Alice's room in the next few weeks, as soon as we can get it all painted. She really wants her own room and even considered moving downstairs, but cried as she thought of how far she would be to Eve. She has been telling Eve all different ways they can still be close even when she is sleeping in a different room. She asked if we could cut a cubby hole for secret messages.
  

Alice:

• Is obsessed with riding her bike, it warms my heart that the bike I was excited to buy her 2 years ago is finally getting used.
• She is writing her provincial achievement tests at school, and thinks it is great because they are pretty easy and because of them they don't have any homework
• She did her first talk in primary the other week even though she (of course) really didn't want to. She did a great job and was super glad when it was over.
• Helped me find a great dress for the Grecole wedding. She is a great little shopper. Luvky is the mother that has daughters.
• She can now make chocolate chip cookies, corn meal muffins and waffles all by herself. Her new found baking ability is a terrific help. She is giving the girls breakfast while I type this.
  
• Is loving soccer, even though she also hasn't scored this year. I love watching her play and practice. Her best friend Chloe is on the team and the two of them look so happy all the time to be playing together.
  
• Thinks her swimming lessons are so boring, but at least she is learning how to do a handstand in the water, the only thing that prevented her from passing swimmer three last time.
• Is the proud owner of her own deodorant ( my little girls is growing up and getting sticky, sniff, sniff). She was not embarrassed at all, just excited. She totally does not feel the way I did about the whole maturing thing. A while back we were at Value Village trying on some shoes. There were these slip on high heels that completely fit her. I said we could buy them for the dress up clothes. She was all, "Can't I wear them to church?" I was surprised she would want to and told her when I was her age and didn't ever want to look any older than I (tragically) already did. She just said to me, "Mom, I am practically an adult already".
• Has discovered the joy of brushing her hair. I told her that if she didn't get better at brushing the knots out of her hair she would have to cut it. She has since upgraded to a brush that actually works and can frequently be seen brushing and admiring her hair in the mirror. I am glad that her hair looks better, but am not sure how I feel about the new found vanity about the beautifully brushed hair.
  
• Has decided to move downstairs to the guest bedroom. The thought that Jackie might just move down into that room, instead of waiting for her to do it was just the incentive she needed. Let the decorating begin.
  
• Can't wait for school to be done and for fun cousins to arrive. I'm totally with her on that.
  

Jackie's photoshoot

Here are Jackie's pictures from the party. At first, Alice didn't want Jackie to come so there would be more room to invite her friends. I said that would be o.k. if that is what she wanted that we both knew that Jackie would be really really sad and that Alice would have to live with that. Alice was prepared for that and said she would tell Jackie. When she did, Jackie immediately started crying and was so upset she literally couln't speak. Alice lasted less than 30 seconds before she changed her mind. Alice realized she wouldn't enjoy making her sister miserable and Jackie was quick to forgive and happy to come along. Potential sister problem averted. With Jackie's invitation secured, the girls were free to plan and work together for the party. We only had to leave one sad sister at home, and we both knew that Eve would get over it way faster than Jackie would. And really, if you count how much time Jackie and Alice spend playing happily together, Jackie is one of Alice's best friends. Someday they will both realize how lucky they are to have each other.
Jackie wanted to look like a Russian or Spanish dancer in her pictures. She carried it off pretty good.
This one is my favourite. So cool and confident. She is growing up! As soon as Alice has her birthday, I feel like all my girls have had their birthday. I have to remind myself that she is only six and a half and won't be 7 until the end of September.

Predictions.

Alice excitedly came out of the bathroom one morning and said,

" I FINALLY know what I will be when I grow up. I was sitting on the toilet, going poo, and thinking that I really am interested in how the human body works, but I DON'T want to be doctor - too much blood. GROSS.

Then I thought I would be a scientist, but then I thoughtthere might be explosions and I don't want that. Too dangerous.

SO - I am going to a physics teacher. "

She looked so relieved. I believe this life decision has been weighing on her. She used to want to be an artist but then realized that she would only get paid when she sold a painting, and that didn't sound very practical. We have since taught her that physics doesn't have much to do with the human body, so she wants to be a bio teacher. Andrew suggested bio chemistry because that is what he did. There is a lot of her dad in her, so I wouldn't rule it out.

Also - just to keep you updated :

Jackie informed me this morning that when she is older she is going to cut her hair short and dye it black. Mary - does that sound good?

Alice is going to dye her hair blond - Erin?

Eve is going to wear lots of makeup all the time. Which is exactly what she does already. Thanks Audrey.

Our Sweet little Evie - I mean Evil

This past Saturday was Creative Saturday in our Relief Society. I almost wasn't going to sign up, but at the last minute decided it would be fun - and it was. I made chocolate cake balls in the morning and hair bows in the afternoon. Fun conversation with the ladies and my girls were very pleased with the results. The best thing about the day of course - no Evie.

Andrew was excited to give me a day off and looking forward to a relaxing day at home with the kids. I knew he would be tired when I got home, so we made plans for me to take the girls swimming as soon as I got home.

I called before I left the church, so he would know I was coming home. I came home to three happy children outside in there coats with their swimming bag outside already. I thought," Dad's a little anxious to get them going". They came inside to sample my cake balls while I was getting my swimsuit. It became apparent to me that Andrew was not in the best mood.

We were on the road soon enough and I asked the girls how the day went. They said,"

Girls: Fine

Me: Really? Dad seems like he is in a bit of a mood.

Jackie: Oh yeah - Dad's in a bad mood. He was all like this ,

Alice hits Jackie's arm.

Jackie: What was that for?

Alice: I don't want you making fun of Dad for being in a bad mood.

Jackie: I wasn't going to make fun of Dad, I was just going to show that he was in a bad mood because of Evie.

Alice: Oh, yeah that's kinda true.

And I wasn't surprised - seeing as I must have said three different times to the ladies, "It is so nice to not have Evie". Now let me be clear - WE LOVE EVIE. She is hilarious. She is clever. She is fast. She likes to have fun, and she .......likes to have her own way. Her persistence is exhausting. I tell myself over and over that she will be delightful when she is able to run her own life, (as I myself am delightful). As I give her timeout after timeout for hitting her friends or whining relentlessly, or when I carry her screaming kicking body out of sacrament meeting because she doesn't like the snack I brought, I remind myself that in a few years I will look at pictures of her three year old self and miss her littleness. I will use blog postings like this one and pictures like the one below - to remind me..

In the meantime, I will enjoy her great qualities - how she loves to tell you that she is , " so big, so strong and so fast". I will enjoy teaching her things she feels like learning and will thoroughly enjoy when she has decided to be a puppy all day, even when she has decided that she wants to be a bad puppy. And when the whining and the tantrums come I will endeavor to be patient and remind myself that:
1. She will not always be like this
2. She is the child I deserve.
But I also will be patient with my husband - who from all accounts was a perfect child and does not deserve our little Evil, I mean Evie.

Art Walk 2010

Since Alice was little (like she's so big now) she has wanted to be an Artist. When I learned that this weeked was Alberta Art Days, I figured we should check it out. We looked through the activities and decided to do the Art Walk downtown.

So as our NY cousins say, "we took the train into the city."and had a great time. We felt a little like tourists. Since it was Art Days, we tried to artsy up our photos.

Jackie was the main one pushing for the train. This is her on the way there. On the way back she looked a little different. A lot less clean, and a little more tired.

Me: Jackie, when you get home you will have to wash your face. You have hot chocolate all around you mouth, and mustard on your cheek.

Jackie: The mustard tells a story.

Me: oh yeah?

Jackie: A story of a gigantic hot dog, and how I shoved it into my mouth, chomp.

Below is a picture with the hot chocolate. This is Jackie's favorite effect. She loves saturated colour. (She also kind of loved that her hot chocolate looked like coffee - We got it an Tim Hortons, where all her teacher like to get coffee).

You may have noticed that my kids are sporting winter hats and warm coats. It was freezing. But luckily it wasn't raining, which it has been doing most of September. And we haven't seen any snow yet - though Grandma and Grandpa on the North of town did. Some days I worry about global waming more than others.

This is my favourite picture of Alice. So pretty and so grown up looking.

We saw 4 small galleries, 2 unique jewelery stores, and caught some live jazz. We got to walk past some artist's studios, but we didn't get to see anyone working. We did get to talk to a gallery owner and learn about some different media and she told us a little about the artists that did the pieces in her gallery. The kids loved picking out there favourite pieces and seeing how much they cost.

Jackie was determined to see the Chinese Cultural Centre, even though it was a bit of a walk. Alice was dying for hot chocolate, which was harder to find than I thought it would be. We didn't find any on the way, but we did find a hot dog and then a tiny cup cake bakery tucked away in a basement. We needed energy for our long art journey.

Jackie: Alice, do you know what my favourite kind of arts and crafts are?

Alice: What?

Jackie: Ones made out of food!

We did eventually make it to the Chinese Cultural Centre. I am ashamed that we have lived here so long and never been there. The roof alone was Alice's favourite thing she saw that day. The display on early immigrants to Canada from China was fascinating and the gift store was a real hit. The girls each got some inexpensive,but very legit looking fans. Jackie posing outside the cultural center. She as already asked if we can go back there.


Alice has been constantly opening and closing her fan since she got it. I learned she even was playing with it in primary today. Doesn't this effect make her eyes look cool?

Anyway, It was a lovely afternoon for me. I find Art energizing. I am excited to do more interesting projects with the girls. We got an excellent book from the library with some very cool ideas in it which we are going to use for " Home art school". I am making plans to do more virtual and in person art walking with her, since she still wants to be an artist.

Jackie, on the other hand, might want to be an artist or a chef.

I just enjoy her being a kid. This is a picture from Heritage park this summer.

Eve didn't come with us, instead she got to spend some quality time with Andrew. She did like modifying pictures. I like this one.

She likes this one.

Overheard

Jackie: "My lips were made for kissing"

We'll have to watch that one.

Punished by Rewards

Jackie: What are you reading?

Me: A book about how it is not good to give kids rewards and prizes for doing things right.

Jackie: That's crazy, prizes are great.

Alice: I think you should stop reading that. ( Alice really likes her piano practicing chart. It has been very effective)

Jackie: What's the book called?

Me: Punished by rewards.

Jackie: That's not right. If you are getting a reward, that is a good thing, not a bad. Punishments are bad, so if you get something bad, it isn't a reward. It just doesn't make sense. (I can see her thinking hard.) Unless someone hit you on the head with your own trophy.

Gotta love the way her mind works.

Musings on sleep

I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but didn't post it because the picture was still on the camera and not the computer - I then forgot all about it - so here it is.

Sleep is a precious commodity in our house. A scarce commodity. Whether by nature or nurture, my children, like myself, are not great sleepers.

A few days ago I had a hard time getting to sleep after helping Evie when she woke up at night. It was sometime past 4 in the morning. My neck was sore so I decided to heat up the hot bag. When I was in the kitchen I noticed the light to the stairwell downstairs was on. I went to turn it off and saw that the lights downstairs were on an so was the TV. I went downstairs and there was Alice watching t.v. She told me she had gone into our bedroom while I was getting Eve back to sleep and asked Andrew if it was ok. Her dad said "go ahead". If I hadn't gone into the kitchen to heat up the hot bag she would have watching tv till the rest of the house got up at 7. In Andrew's defence, he is quite blind without his glasses and for all he knew it was 6:30. And really, he is likely to say yes to anything if it means he can sleep a little longer. I was proud of Alice though, since she truly dislikes going to the basement alone and usually gets one of her sisters to go with her ( what help she expects Eve to give her, I don't know). That night she managed to brave the journey on her own, in the dark, equipped with only her flashlight (and of course the very strong desire to watch television.) To her credit, she did obediently go back to bed and was difficult to rouse at 7:30 for school.

As a kid I was an insomniac and might have tried that, but cable was different then. I had wait until 6:00 when the coloured bars would finally give way to reruns of Frankenstone. I sometimes resort to that now. Last night I couldn't sleep so I got up and did some work at the computer for a half hour. Then I still couldn't sleep, so I watched Design Inc on HGTV. I guess I watched that hoping to dream off home renovations...

Thursday night, around 9:00, I went to go check on the girls a third time and to tell them to please be quiet and get to sleep. I found Jackie up with Alice on her top bunk, all snuggled together in her blankets, talking and giggling. When I asked what they were doing Jackie said,"we are having fun talking and planning the crafts for my party". Alice hugged Jackie protectively and said that, "Jackie had to come up, because my neck was getting too strained from hanging upside down to hear her". After all, they were trying so hard to whisper so as not to disturb Evie (and also to avoid detection.) It made me hope that someday all the girls would want to move in to the one big bedroom downstairs so that Evie wouldn't miss the party entirely. Sister's are a great thing and I believe that bonding is often more important that sleep.

Maybe that's my problem, I think a whole lot of things are more important than sleep - working, reading a good book, spending time with my husband, Sometimes even house work. Can you imagine how much we could get done if we didn't have to sleep?

There are a lot of techniques for trying to get to sleep. I've tried them all. Jackie and Eve like the warm milk bit. Alice's favourite lately is moving to the floor when she gets frustrated with her bed. I find her in all kinds of crazy positions, like the one above. If Andrew isn't home, I wait until he gets home and have him lift her onto her bed. I wonder how she would sleep if I left her there. A couple of weeks ago she did try a warm bath ( my preferred method). Alice kind of dislikes baths so she thought I was crazy at first, but did find it relaxing. I told her that sometimes I have a shower before bed, and if I can't sleep, I'll have a bath too. I wake up very clean.

Last night Jackie found a ratty Santa hat in the dress up clothes and is wearing it as her nightcap. It looks adorable with her old fashioned petty coat nightgown. She also went to sleep with her new bracelets around her wrist and is is still wearing them now. Maybe all we need is the right accessories

Discovering Strengths

This evening I took a online self assessment test designed to help me discover my strengths. Don't worry, I won't bore you all with an my insightful musings on my strengths and weaknesses - that is sure to come later after I've had more time to really digest the information. Right now I thought I write a little of what I predict my children's strengths will be based on what they are saying and doing now. In twenty years, I'll be able to look back and see if I was right. Today I will start with my little Evie, my terrific toddler. Eve values her independence. She is my charge ahead girl. Today at the spray park, she kept running away, turning around to do her " mommy come with me " sign and then was off again. In a "come here" battle with Eve, I always lose ( luckily, in a "I'm going to pick you up and carry you" battle I always win.)

Eve tantrums less than my other girls did ( not a hard thing for anyone who ever dealt with Jackie after a nap). She is not all about the drama, she is all about the action. Eve mostly gets upset if there is something she is unable to do that she wants to - like doing up her red buckle shoes at the gym( so frustrating), or wants something she knows she can't have -(like the camera). She also has a very cute way of tantruming I like to call the "silent protest non-tantrum tantrum. This is how it goes.

She does something I have asked her not to do and continues to do it after I have told her to stop. I physically stop her from doing it. I get down to her level and explain why she can't do it. While I explain, she sinks to the ground, lays on her belly with her head on the floor. She doesn't move. She doesn't answer - she just stays still until I get up, at which point she gets up and before I know she is doing what she was doing in the first place.

I think she tantrums less than the other girls because she doesn't except no as an answer. She just plans how she will do it anyway. Experiential learner maybe? I'm just glad she came third - so her Dad will have had two teenagers ahead of her to break him in, because she does not do well with someone trying to control her. I think she will go her own way. Her baby blessing said that she would enjoy making choices, and blessed her to make the right choices. I hope so..

So Mom, have I got what I deserved?

On a side note - she has recently added a few new words to her vocabulary - please, cookie, shoe, and show. She only has said them because we have made her try.( i.e. if you try to say cookie you can have a cookie). Otherwise, she really doesn't try out words on her own. I think maybe because if you are planning to do whatever you want - really no one else needs to know.

Anyway - she is a super interesting, super delightful girl - She loves balls, cars, animals and kissing. Yesterday I was playing cars with her. She was making car noises, then would make the cars kiss each other. Pretty cute.

Earth Day

Alice: For Earth Day I picked up garbage in the school yard. I even did it instead of playing at recess. I love picking up Garbage.

Me: Really?

Alice: Yeah, I LOVE picking up garbage - but only garbage. I still hate picking up toys.
( she could see the ideas I was starting to get, I think).

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Jackie: Someone is totally wrecking the world, because they left their garbage on the ground..

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We got an early Earth Day gift this week. Our blue bin was delivered! So glad our city FINALLY has a residential recycling pick up!!! No more loading the recycling into the van!!!!!!

Some words from Jackie

I haven't done an "overheard" in a while and need to catch up. Jackie says so many interesting things everyday, it is hard to remember them all. Here are some of the most memorable Jackie-isms of the past few weeks.

Jackie can be very persuasive. She has a way of asking for things that is so cute that I end up giving it to her. On the weekend she got in trouble for snitching granola bars and fruit snacks from the storage room which she would cut open with the sewing scissors. She promised she would ask first and was made to understand that those things things were not for snacks at home but for times like church. On Monday, this is what she said, as you read try to imagine the bright smiling eyes, and a business tone of voice reserved mainly for pretend telephone conversations:

"Mom, I am going to ask you for a snack and I don't think that you will say yes, because I am going to ask you something that IS mostly for Sunday, but yesterday was Sunday and we didn't have any, so I am just going to take a risk here and ask you for a fruit snack, you know the little gummy one's that are just so tasty".

She said that she didn't think I would say yes, but I really think she completely expected I would say yes, and she was right, I did say yes. She got the fruit snack and Evie got one too. I think that girl will be able to schmooze and negotiate with the best of them when she grows up. I am still laughing at the "take a risk here" and " just so tasty".

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Jackie was very matter of fact about the lice she had in her hair. When she learned about the Easter egg hunt we are going to on Good Friday at Butterfeild Acres she said,:

"Oh, I am just so excited it, it will be so much fun, I just can't wait!....but, if we find bugs or something else in my hair I just won't be able to go. That's just the way it is."

Doesn't she sound so travel hardened, " that's just the way it is..." Also, I wondered what else could we find in her hair that would make it impossible for her to go?

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When Alice was home from school because of the lice I instituted home school, since she wasn't sick and was having a little too much fun. It was great since until then, Jackie refused to do any workbooks. During home school she discovered she loved them and now does her work book all the time. The day after that first "home school" she said,

"Mom, when we were doing home school, you were exactly like a teacher. EXACTLY! You really could be one of my teachers".

Not sure if I should be happy she liked doing the work book with me or insulted that she was soooo surprised that I could help her with the exercises.

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As I posted before, when we came home from Heritage Park we watched the first half of Anne of Green Gables. After the first part, Alice had had enough. I said, that was good because there was a sad part in the next part. Jackie pressed me and pressed me to learn what the sad part was. I said that someone died, then she started the morbid guessing game to figure out who it was ( if you have never read the book or seen the movie - stop reading now). She guessed it was Matthew. Alice thought it would definitely be too sad to watch, because that is just awful, but Jackie said,

" Oh I want to keep watching it because I want to see the sad part. I just LOVE sad parts, and now I know there is a sad part coming I just have to keep watching."

I think the real reason she wanted to keep watching is that she wanted to stay up later, but I think that Anne Shirley would respect and understand the love of tragic endings. Jackie does love drama and emotion. Unlike Alice, who always draws happy faces, Jackie will often draw people with sad faces and have a story to tell about why that person is feeling like that.

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For preschool last week, she wore her cherry red velvet skirt, her red sparkly tights, a red sparkly tank top with Alice cream satin blouse over top. She said,

"I think I look exactly like a mom in this outfit and this hair. Do I look exactly like a mom to you?" Then she looked in the mirror, " I do look like a mom and I look like business woman. I look exactly like a mom who is a business woman".

She went to school very happy that day.

When I grow up

On the way home from preschool today.

"If I become a veterinarian when I grow up it would be great because I could help animals, Then if a kitty is sick I can help it. (Jackie loves kitties).But I would never see Daddy, because he HATES all animals and will never had any pets. (Pause)But it might be ok because I could probably see him on my day off."

Somehow I thought it funny that Jackie had a concept of day off.

They have been learning about different people in the community this in preschool this month. Jackie was very impressed with the idea of helping kitties, was not impressed with the concept of being a firefighter (too scary),or mail carrier ( a little bit boring) but enjoyed the idea of becoming a police girl, so she could "Help people and have a gun". They still have banker and Dentist to learn about. This just shows that school does broader your horizen's, because none of these ideas are dancers, movie stars or princesses.

Lost in Translation

Today - at Superstore

Jackie: Mom, are English accidents real?
Me: What did you say?
Jackie: Are English accidents real?
Me: I don't know what you mean.
Jackie: (losing her patients a little bit)Do English accidents exist in the real world:
Me: Sorry Honey, I still don't know what you mean.
Jackie: You know, when we were watching Barbie and the Christmas Carol and the girl says Tomahtoes - you said she was because of her English accident.
Me: Oh, you mean English Accents - yes, those are real.

(Incidently, Jackie now likes eating tomatoes because she can call them Tomahtoes, she also calls potatoes, potahtoes - she is very fancy, and it is not accidental at all.)

On Thursday after school

Alice:Mom, we have got to get one of those furnaces.
Me: a furnace?
Alice: A furnace for my lunch.
Me: What kind of furnace?
Alice: Gareth had a furnace in his lunch today. His mom put ichiban in it.
Me: Oh, a thermos, yes that would be a good idea.

In regards to Alice and her lunches - a thermos is what we need, since she no longer will eat sandwiches and even cheese buns come back uneaten. ( especially now that her friend Jake is at her table and he is so funny she spends all her time laughing and forgets to eat). Lately I have been packing her a Tupperware with cereal in it and a spoon. She gets milk at lunch that she wasn't drinking, so now it goes on the cereal. The nutrition is questionable, but at least she is eating something. Cereal for breakfast, lunch and bedtime snack. If they ever stop making Shreddies, Alice will starve.

Whack you head Wednesday - a "day in the life" story.

Here is a bit of sweet girl drama. It is quite long, but bear with me.

Yesterday, Jackie was back to her regular "cry for no good reason until I've eaten breakfast" self. The no good reason selected: she couldn't remember me giving her "fresh water" in her sippy cup the night before.

She wasn't thirsty. She wasn't worried she would get an incurable illness from drinking day old water. She was just offended that I had forgotten to perform an important part of her bed time ritual. Her offense was real, even if it took her 12 hours to notice. The irony of the story is that - yes - you guessed it- I HAD given her fresh water the night before. What's more, knowing she would be upset if she was unsure of the freshness of her water, I had made a big point of showing her the ice and telling her that her water was new. (As I write this, I am beginning to understand my husbands hostility towards the "fresh water fetish" the older girls have - they really aren't that diva about other things).

Like a fool, I broke one of my cardinal rules for parenting: NEVER ARGUE WITH A HUNGRY CHILD UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. ( This also is my rule for my husband, and one I think should be applied to everyone on my side of the family - especially me. How can anyone be expected to act rationally on an empty stomach?) I reminded her that I did get her the water. What was worse, her sister Alice corroborated my story. Not only was she offended, now she was betrayed. I will not describe her reaction, for I can not do justice to the combination of screaming and tears, but I will say that it landed her in her room - without the all important breakfast that might bring out better spirits. Now, do not judge me too soon, I did try to get her to take her sippy cup of milk with her - but she refused. I don't know where she gets her stubbornness from.

Alice, always the peace maker, decided that she would try to help her sister be happy. The best way was to make her laugh. But how to go about this? Clearly any verbal humour would be difficult to hear over the racket of the tantrum. Alice opted to follow the example of her favourite comic Mr. Bean, and tried some physical humour. She started pretending to bang her head against the door frame. I was reminded of my brother Greg, who when he was ten couldn't walk down Bonnie Doon Mall without pretending to bang his head on every pillar. Alice's performance was great, and Jackie was soon laughing through her tears. Another victory for comedy.

It looked like so much fun,in fact, that Evie wanted to try. That's were the story gets a little sad. I can still see her running full tilt at that door frame. I could see what was going to happen, but could not get to her in time. She rammed the door frame with everything she had. Ouch. A hard way to learn the difference between pretending to bump you head, and actually bumping your head. Here she is standing beside a door frame like the one she hit,during happier times.

But these head hurting escapades were but foreshadowing for some all too real noggin nocking. We went to Value Village last night to try to find some pants for Alice and some Christmas decorations for the basement. While I was chasing Evie (who is no longer fond of the cart) Jackie was uncontrollably drawn to the bars corralling the shopping carts. She had been warned to stay off, but like Princess Aurora drawn to the spindle, she couldn't stop herself. While she was playing on the bars, she fell backward and hit her head on the floor, causing a very minor, yet still very bloody, head wound. It is always so hard when your child get's hurt. It sure was not fun to have it happen in a store full of unhelpful stangers, and trying to help her while keeping tabs on your two other children. After some time in the bathroom washing up, signing an accident incident report, and buying a Christmas candle holder for Jackie and a Christmas dress for Alice we made it home. Jackie had a bath to calm her nerves and wash the blood out of her hair (though we didn't tell her about that). While she was in the tub, Alice and I, who were both able to keep it together at the store and on the way home, almost starting crying and began feeling queasy again as we talked about how upsetting it was. We agreed that it was lucky that Jackie hurt the back of her head, instead of the front, because, "at least she didn't have to see all that blood". I am making a prediction now: Alice will not become a nurse.

Since I didn't see how hard Jackie bumped her head, I woke her up every four hours just in case she had a concussion. It is not the first time I have had to do that for Jackie. I imagine it won't be the last.

This morning she was fine. She had no headache, minimal mood issues, and was still clearly in love with the Christmas candle holder. She brought it to school for show and tell.

So, that is the tale of Head Whacking Wednesday. Just another day in the life.