I've Still Got It

It is always difficult to come down from the high of a really great weekend. On Saturday morning, Zoe woke up early and headed to a volleyball tournament in Sussex.  Then we picked her up and took the whole family to Fredericton for a conference that was being held in our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For Mr. Level-Headed and I, we eagerly attend these conferences because it is an opportunity to connect with dear friends from all the Atlantic provinces and to be spiritually nourished, uplifted and enlightened. For the kids, it is nothing but one gigantic party! Can you imagine staying in a  hotel with some of your bestest and most wildest friends? There was swimming, there was X-Boxing, there was prank-your-sister-and-lock-her-out-of-the-room, there was get-back-at-your-snotty-nosed-brothers-and-make-them-pay, there was pizza, there was pop, and there was a whole lot of running and squealing. 

When we returned home Sunday afternoon, everyone was exhausted! Mr. Level-Headed took a nap, I read a book, and the kids watched a movie.  Everything was going pretty good until the boys broke out into one rip-roaring fist fight and mama decided that everyone had had enough screen time for the day. There was whining, there was crying, there was bickering and there was a whole lot of teasing. Feeling the resolve, the hope, and the energy that had been restored to me from our spiritual feast of a weekend fading quickly and noticing that it was only 7pm, I ordered everyone into my bed. I asked Avery, the only cooperative one of the bunch, to choose a book, and then we snuggled up beneath my warm, cosy duvet.

The whining continued:

Ugh! Not the Hobbit!

I know everything about this book!

Ahhhh! He's touching me!

He's breathing on me!

Then the giggles erupted:

She's tickling me!

He's making faces at me.

In spite of their interruptions, I kept on reading. Eventually, everyone quieted down. They snuggled deeper within the blankets, and they moved in closer to one another. Then nothing short of a miracle happened: one by one my not-so-little kids fell asleep. I was shocked, and very excited with this unexpected turn of events. Zoe went first, then Elliot and finally, Avery. With their warm, quiet bodies sleeping soundly beside me, I continued to read. I did not want this moment to end, and so I finished reading the lengthy chapter. Between the rhythm of my words and their slumbering breaths, my peace was restored. I looked upon their sweet faces and could not remember the last time I had put them all to sleep in my bed with a bedtime story. I did not move for the longest time. I sat there soaking up the beauty of this moment, reflecting upon the joy my family brings me, and thanking Heavenly Father for one more opportunity, and quite possibly my last, to put all of my babies to sleep.

This is going to be a fantastic week!  I just know it.

Due to the nature of teenagers, I thought it best not to include a picture of the sleeping Baby Girl. :)

Our Day at the Pool

Have you ever read "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls?  Well, you need to!  It is her memoir of growing up with two very eccentric, self-absorbed parents, who essentially neglect their three children and force them to live in poverty, even though the family comes from wealth, for the "experience" of it all.  The book is amazing because Walls does not victimize herself or her siblings, but rather shows how her bizarre childhood empowered her and helped her to become the successful woman she is today.  Love it!

Wondering how this all ties into the shenanigans of 4 Websters and a Skov?  Well, you know Mr. Level-Headed is quite eccentric and very wealthy . . . tee hee!  I'll get to it in a minute.

Yesterday, Zoe had spent the night at her friends' place so it was just the boys and I.  We started off the day preparing for a huge video game sale, which quickly fell apart after the boys realized they really were not prepared to part with their beloved games.  Then we moved onto arts and crafts.  Avery made a paper plane, tied it to a string, and ran throughout the house with the plane trailing him.  Elliot decided to do some painting.  He grabbed the watercolours because "all serious painters use water colours, mom", and set out to explore his creative genius.

Not bad, eh?

It is titled "Man About to Fall to his Death and Meet a Sea Monster".  I love how all of Elliot's pictures involve death, blood, and sea monsters. If you are psychologist, please do not analyze this phenomena.  I really do not want to hear that my precious boy is destined to become a serial killer known as the Sea Monster.  You can keep that little tidbit of information to yourself . . . tee hee!

Anyhoo, after lunch we picked up Elliot's buddy and headed out to the Dreamland playground.  Poor Avery tried calling 3 of his friends, but no one was home.  This is my kids' FAVOURITE playground of all time, and they love hearing how my family, along with a plethora of other families whose kids attended Fairvale Elementary School, helped build it.  Or at least, I think they love to hear that story because I just keep telling it over and over again. 

While the boys chased each other through the mazes of wooden tunnels in one ultimate game of tag, I sat down to read Jeanette Walls' "Half Broke Horses".  I was pleased to learn that this book was all about her grandmother, Lily, who grew up in an equally dysfunctional family as her granddaughter, but also managed to become an independent, resourceful woman.  I was shocked as I read the opening chapter because it starts off with three young kids, the oldest being Lily and she was only 10 (Elliot's age), roaming a field in West Texas all alone when suddenly a flash flood is upon them.  Lily pulls her two siblings to a nearby tree and the three of them climb up into it, while a wall of water comes bearing down upon them. The water remains high throughout the night so these three little kids cling to the tree all night long, without sleeping, to make sure they do not slip off and drown.  CRAZY!!

Back to playground.

After the boys had chased each other to near exhaustion, we went for a swim at the Qplex, the new community pool just a ferry crossing away from our home.  As I stood on the edge of the pool with an entire league of suburban moms and an army of lifeguards diligently watching the shenanigans of a sea of children splashing and swimming, I had to laugh at how different this scenario was compared to those found in the tales of Jeanette Walls.   Although this style of over-protective parenting is all the rage these days, I was left wondering if in fact it was better for our children, or are we simply denying them empowering experiences, which would in turn develop resourcefulness and confidence?  Are we raising them to be timid and fearful of the world with our constant reminders of not to run and covering their little bodies with a shield of armour before they embark upon a deadly day at the pool.   You know the shield of armour I am talking about: sunscreen, sunhats, and lifejackets.

I don't know.

I wish I was more like those few parents, who could grab their book and find a nice shady spot to sit in while the kids swim and squeal, but I'm not.  I'm a hoverer.

But then again, if I hadn't been a hoverer, I would have missed these shots:

And I would have missed Avery's moment of facing his fear and being triumphant.



Phew! The sea monster didn't catch him this time . . . tee hee!

I love this photo!  You can almost hear him saying: "I did it. I actually did it!".

In the end, I don't know which parenting method is the best, but my gut is telling me to simply be who you are because you is exactly what your kids need.



One Blissful, Yet Ridiculously Lazy Weekend

It all started Friday afternoon, when I found myself down to only one child.  Zoe and Elliot were off cavorting with their buddies for the day fishing, swimming, and tubing (Elliot).  Avery had plans to go out with his friend, Jack, but they wouldn't be picking him up for another hour so this looked like the perfect time to have a little one-on-one time with my wee-est Webster.  The two of us were pretty tuckered out from our week of summer shenanigans so we pulled out the Lego box and got down to some serious Lego-building action.

We love Lego!  As we sifted through the box looking for that perfect piece, we talked about whales and other things that were pressing on Avery's mind.  Unfortunately, I couldn't answer all of his questions; therefore, we decided a trip to the library next week was in order.  Yes, I should have just booted up my computer and googled the answers, but for me, there are just some things that books do so much better.  Plus, I would never turn down an opportunity to meander through the library.  Sweet bliss: an entire building whose soul purpose is to house books! 

Our hour was quickly up, and I was left all alone.  After having the kids fill the house with their squeals of laughter, their maniacal plots, and their wrestling matches for the past three weeks, it seemed eerily quiet and I was at a loss as to what I should do.  I stared down at the monstrous pile of laundry that was calling out to me for its own share of one-on-one time, but I knew it just wasn't going to happen.  The responsible me was taking off her apron and was about to indulge in a little laziness (unbeknownst to me this would become the theme for my weekend  . . . love it!)

I grabbed the new Tina Fey biography, which my sister highly recommended for being jam packed with a plethora of laugh-out-loud moments, and I hunkered down in my bed.

Ugh!  Tina, just because you know twenty different variations for the word vagina doesn't mean you have to use them all. 

I was bitterly disappointed!  Now, I know I sound like a prude, but I did play Angry Vagina in "The Vagina Monologues" back in my ol' university days (betcha didn't see that one coming) so I am pretty familiar with these words.  Yikes, I just used the word vagina three times, oops, now four. I wonder if I will get to keep my "clean" rating on Blogger  . . . tee hee!   But, for me, listening to an intelligent woman use profanity and continually refer to her nether regions is no longer shocking or funny.  It's kind of like "been there, done that" and now it's time to move on.  

  So, there's my rant for the day.  Thankfully, my blog is not that popular and I do not have to worry that Tina Fey will EVER come across this scathing critique.  Or, just my luck this would be the day it finally goes viral, and I will be placed on her list alongside Sarah Palin as people the world should make fun of.  Oh, and for the record, Sarah does deserve to be on this list and probably me too, but, thankfully, no one knows me!

I closed the book after reading only twenty pages (something I NEVER do), and decided to paint my toenails because my hubby and I had big plans for the evening: dinner and a movie.  For me, this is the ideal date night, and we were not disappointed!  We tried Splash, the new Thai restaurant in Saint John, for dinner and it was very yummy!  I loved their yellow curry dish with chicken and sweet potato.  Then we headed to the new Transformers movie, which was very funny and action-packed, exactly what you looking for in a summer blockbuster.  We had so much fun! 

When we arrived home, all of my kidlets plus a few extra ones were hanging out in the living room watching TV.  Each of them was sun-kissed and exhausted from their day so I shuttled them off to bed. 

It was the start of one blissful, yet ridiculously lazy weekend! 

We enjoyed naps, watched a ton of movies, had lunch with friends and wrapped it all up with a strawberry shortcake date at my mom's house.  Ahhh . . . There is nothing better than those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!

Watching My Baby Grow Up

The other night, as we were preparing for bed, I told Avery to pick out his book for bedtime, and I read it to him.  Elliot was still not finished with his bath so I told Avery to grab another book. 

"Okay, mom, but I am going to read this one to you!"

When your first born reaches these milestones, your heart does a little leap for the thrill of watching them slowly master the world one step at a time.  These moments become a form of validation for you and confirm that yes, you are being the type of parent your child needs you to be.    

But when your baby takes these strides, your heart quivers and you weep a silent tear. These moments are no longer a thrill because you have become painfully aware that each of these baby steps leads them that much further away from you. 

I want to scream out, "No, let mama read this book just one last time", but I can't.  The pride and excitement on his face stops me in my tracks.  This is my job.  As a mother, I must accept these sweet little spirits when they are helpless and in need of a mama to sustain their precious life, and then I must nurture, encourage and teach them so that one day they will be able to do it all on their own.

So, I gave in.  I allowed him to take that baby step.  While drinking in the tenderness of this moment, we snuggled up close to one another, and I allowed his voice to carry me through the story.  I may not always have him with me to read bedtime stories to, but, for now, he is here in my arms and I am going to enjoy it!

Bedtime Stories

One of my most favourite things in the world are books!  I LOVE books!  I love the look of them, the feel of them, even the smell of them (and yes, I always give my new books a good whiff before I read them).  I LOVE the smell of paper and ink . . . .mmmm, heavenly bliss.  But my most favourite thing about books is not the sensational sensory experiences they provide nor is it what you find inside of them: the ideas, the characters, and the images, but rather it is the memories they create and the bonds they forge with those who share them.  So, as you can imagine, reading books before bed is a pretty big deal in my house. In fact, our lack of bedtime reading, while I was working full-time, was one of the critical factors in my decision to return to life as a stay-at-home mom.  Growing up, my dad, in particular, always read stories to us before bed, and literature is such a huge part of being a Skov that I wanted to share it with my children.  Now, you have to know my father, he was not one for "children's books". Most people grew up with Archie comics as their toilet reads, but not the Skovs, we had "The Nietzsche Reader".  I kid you not!  Oh, the things one can learn as they are enjoying their daily poo!  As a very young child, I still remember him reading "The Hobbit" to my sister, Hilary, and I before bed.  I don't remember how young I was, but I was young enough to be terrified!  In fact, I slept cocooned beneath my blankets for years after because I could have sworn that hobbits were peaking around my bedroom door, waiting for me to go to sleep.  I now know that hobbits are very friendly creatures.  I mean, come on, anyone who eats second breakfast and thirdsy lunches is pretty awesome in my opinion; but to a mere child, short, hairy-footed creatures who chum around with dwarfs and wizards are a little freaky.

Even today, the first thing out of my father's mouth when he sees one of his chillin's is "what are you reading?".  Well, maybe more so now with my younger siblings because, when I think about it, he seemed to have stop taking an interest in my book affairs once I developed a slight obsession for young adult fiction.  Hmmm?  Oh, and did I tell you my dad is a HUGE book snob?  Or perhaps, the "Nietzsche Reader" gave it away . . . Tee hee!

Here's Papa Skov working hard at the newspaper.  He even looks like a book snob!

If you want to see my dad in action, just tell him that universities are now putting "Twilight" on their reading lists.  I dare ya!  But if you do, remember to tuck and roll because it's gonna get a whole lot ugly!  Tee hee . . . I love ya, Kurty!

Anyhoo, back to bedtime stories.  Since my children were very young, remember colicky Elliot and his fascination with the Brontes, I have read to them, and books have become cherished items in our house.  In fact, tonight, I asked the boys to pick a picture book out before I started to read them a chapter from "The Hobbit" (I know! I know! But, there are some rites of passage all children must experience and this is one of them if you are part Skov), they grabbed "Where Did All the Dragons Go?". 

As soon as I picked it up, a flood of memories washed over me.  This was one of Elliot's FAVOURITE books when he was a toddler.  It was out of print at the time, so we had to continuously renew it from the library.  He was obsessed!  We searched everywhere to find a copy for him.  I even contemplated stealing it from the library . . . . GASP!  Kidding!  But, thankfully, aunt Hilary, the librarian, found a copy on EBay from a library in the States that was selling it.  Thank heavens because I think I could have paid off my student loans with the money I was paying in late fees!  It is still one of our favourites, and will definitely be one of the books I keep to share with my grandbabies someday.

Another one of Elliot's book obsessions was "Piggie Pie". 

We found it in our playgroup's library and we were on the perpetual renewal plan for this one too until I happened to find it at our favourite bookstore, "Benjamin's Books".  This is a fantastic read-aloud book because it is repetitive and rhythmic, and the reader automatically adopts a distinctive voice for Gritch the Witch. This one never gets old, and trust me, we still read it about once a week.

Avery's all-time favourite is "Curious George".  Surprise!  I see no similarities between Avery and a monkey with a natural penchant for shenanigans.  How about you?  Tee hee!

  

When Zoe was a little girl, and I was attending university part-time, I would always visit the school's bookstore in between classes and pick us up a new book to share.  These are some of our favourites:

I remember coming home from school, and the two of us would curl up on the couch and read our new book.  She always sat in my lap, and would ALWAYS ask me to read it, again and again.  She particularly liked "The Paper Bag Princess" because, in the end, the Princess says to Ronald "your clothes are really pretty and your hair is very neat.  You look like a real prince, but you are a bum!".  She would laugh and laugh.  I wonder if she still thinks all boys are bums?  Hmmm . . . probably not!

In our house, the most treasured books are the ones that can be read-aloud with ease and the ones which lend themselves nicely to absurd voices or accents, like these ones:

I dare you to read Skippyjon Jones without a Spanish accent.  It's impossible!  This series is another one of Avery's favourites.  It's about a little boy kitty who always finds himself in a heap of shenanigans.  Hmmm . . .   I'm picking up on a theme here with Avery's book interests?  The more shenanigans the better!

But the all-time best bedtime book is:

This is my ultimate favourite children's book to read aloud!  It is awesome!  I used to read it to myself as a kid (remember the book snob and his poopoo on children's literature . . . just kidding, dad!), to my younger sister and brother, John and Emily, to the tons of children I used to babysit, and now to my own wee ones.  It never gets old watching poor Grover fight against the reader to stop them from turning the page.  In fact, this book is so good that they have made a sequel to it with Elmo and Grover, which we have but I could not find.  Please read them to your kids!  They're a hoot!

Now, I cannot wrap up my nod to bedtime stories without acknowledging this Skov favourite:

This is mama Skov's favourite book, and we used to make her read it to us because she can't get through it without crying.  We found this hilarious, and we ridiculed her something terrible for it!  She always said: "just you wait until you're a mom.  You will understand then".  But we thought she was crazy!  How could someone find a creepy old woman, who sneaks into her adult son's room at night to cradle him in her arms, touching?  Well, my mom did have the last laugh because, recently, while I was reading the story to my own boys, I burst into tears and could not go on.  They were dumbfounded, and like my sister and I did so many years ago, they laughed and laughed. 

Like so many traditions that our parents started when we were kids, bedtime stories can often be overlooked and undervalued.  When I asked the boys why they enjoy having stories read to them each night, they replied "because going to sleep is pretty boring and what else are you going to do?".  For Zoe, it is simply a way to put off bedtime a bit longer.  But, it is so much more than that!  Think of the laughs we have shared, the voices we have created, the snuggles we have snuck, and the memories we have made.  THIS IS THE BEST PART OF OUR DAY!!  And finding myself unable to get through to them, like my own mom so many years ago, I simply said, "just wait until you are a parent.  You will understand then".