I Guess They All Really Do Grow Up

This morning I sent Elliot and Avery off to school. Today is Elliot's first day of high school and it is Avery's first day of middle school. They were both very excited! While eating his breakfast, Avery could not stop talking:

This is a big day for me, Mom. I am taking a big step, probably the biggest step of my life . . .

Then after a couple of bites of his Captain Crunch cereal 

(Don't judge me: it was on sale at Costco for $4 . . . $4!!)

In fact, I think this is the first big step I have taken in my life!

Really? Preschool, kindergarten  . . . none of those were big?

Nope. This is it. This is The Big Step. It's the first time I will be the only Webster in a school. I am going to be all alone, and it is going to be awesome.

As he paced around the room waiting for me to tell him it was time to catch the bus, I could tell he was excited . . . nervous, but excited.

How do  you use a lock, mom?

How much homework will I have?

Is Mr. Dumont strict?

Will he only talk french even on the first day?

and so and so on.

I love that Avery still needs me, or at least he still thinks he does. When shopping for school clothes he wanted me by his side and asked my opinion on everything; meanwhile, the two teenagers couldn't get far enough away from me and would immediately roll their eyes if I made a suggestion.

Elliot has been seeking Zoe's counsel more and more lately, and he has barely addressed the issue of going to high school with me, until last night. As I was bringing up a load of laundry from the basement and passed by Elliot's bed, I stopped because I heard him chuckle:

It's so strange, mom. It feels like it was only yesterday that I was starting school and now I am going to high school.

And my heart broke. All I could picture was the little boy who barely reached the window in my classroom door, while standing on his tiptoes. My classroom was right across the hall from his kindergarten classroom, and my students would holler for me when they would see the top of his head pop up out of nowhere. I would groan and then go to the door - Yes, Elliot? Mom, we need to go. We need to go home right now.

Where did that little boy go? Elliot stands eye level to me now. He is snap-chatting with girls, going to bonfires with his friends and talking back to Mr. Level-Headed and I. He knows everything! He is filled with confidence, and he walks with a swagger . . . a swagger?! When did he start to swagger? Elliot always reminded me of Peter Pan; he was going to be the boy who never grew up.

I guess I was wrong.

Trust me, Bud, going to high school may feel strange to you, but it feels even stranger to me.

What We've Been Up To Lately

My poor neglected blog. In spite of all the cool things we have done lately and all the adorable outfits Leif has adorn, I cannot seem to find a half an hour a day to get onto the computer and capture these moments, and that makes me sad. I wish I could bottle every second of our life, even the ugly moments, because right now I have all four of my babies home with me, and, unfortunately, this cannot last forever.

But, here I am: it is March Break so there are no lessons to be taught, the baby is bathed and in his brothers' arms, and my dishes are neatly stacked on the counter ready to be washed . . .  I think, just maybe, I can get 'er done. Let"s go!

First of all, Leif is beginning to look more and more like his daddy.

Leif:

Derrick:

Leif has even decided to suck on the exact same two fingers that his daddy did when he was just a wee Webster. How funny is that? Who knew that genetics also determined finger sucking?

Leif is really starting to notice his toys, and he loves playing with them! He also loves being read to, and his favourite book is "Noisy Farm". This is a gigantic board book with close up pics of animals and the sounds they make. We read it every morning, right after his bath and right before he goes down for his first nap.

Leif's favourite toy of the moment:

This face!

The boys still invade our bedroom each and every morning to hang out with Leif before our day starts. Leif loves to sit propped up against a pillow (or his mama's legs) and carry on conversations with Elliot at this time. It is the cutest thing in the world!

Look at me, sitting like a big boy!

Really? Wow! That is fascinating.

 

Okay, that is downright terrifying!

But, did you hear this one . . .

Last week the big kids at Shenanigans Inc. participated in the Fundy Home Educator's Science Fair. It was a lot of fun, and I was very proud of my munchkins for the cool projects they did.

Avery wanted to find out what kind of music babies like best so he used Leif and his baby cousin, Ava, as lab rats. In the end, he discovered they liked pop music the best and that babies are not the most cooperative lab rats . . . tee hee!

Zoe researched what type of music bacteria like the best. She grew five specimens of bacteria and hooked four of them up to speakers with different types of music playing for an entire week. In the end, she discovered that pop music was the favourite since it increased the bacteria's rate of growth. After Zoe reported her findings, Avery quickly pointed out that babies and bacteria have a lot in common . . . tee hee!

Elliot's project was called "Does Practice Make Perfect?" and he tested to see if physical practice, mental practice or no practice at all would benefit people the mostwhen learning how to shoot a bow and arrow. He invited my family over one evening and put us into three groups. It was a very cold night, Ava was having one of her colicky episodes, and none of us could shoot a bow and arrow, but in the end, we were all laughing, we ate some yummy spaghetti, and we learned that if you do not have much time to learn a skill that mental practice (visualizing) is your best option.

After the science fair and the kids all received their participation certificates, my munchkins looked at me in horror:

What?! There was no first place, second place or third place? What kind of science fair is this?  Well, that was a waste of time!

. . . tee hee! My kids are sooooo competitive!

Also, this past week saw . . .

Leif playing with his cousin Ava. Okay, so he cried every time he looked at her for the first hour of their visit . . . he is such a funny kid!

Loving our AppleCheeks! And yes, Ava is a whole month younger than Leif . . . tee hee!  

Leif not napping. Thank heavens this ended around the same time his evening marathon nursing sessions ended (about four days) because that was no fun at all!

Leif exploring his inner hip hop artist:

Leif hanging out on the side of our chair (his new favourite spot because it makes him feel like a big boy)

And finally, Leif rockin' his new mocs!

Aren't they adorable! Thanks so much, Jess!

Sorry you had to endure all that, but I could not let any of these moments pass me by.  Happy March Break!

Can it Really Be Over?

Just before I dash out the door for yet another day full of appointments . . .  blech! I thought I should update everyone on my "condition". Well, I don't know what happened yesterday, but it seems to be over. My anxiety is gone, and I spent the entire day yesterday marvelling at how calm I felt. Even when I had to get supper ready for five kids and get them all out the door, including two bikes neatly stored in the back of my van, in a whomping forty-five minutes. This is is some sort of miracle. I didn't lose my cool once, and we even made it out the door on time WITHOUT forgetting anything or anyone. Hallelujah!

So, what changed? I have no idea. Was it the fact that I wrote about my anxiety yesterday and received so many kind and supportive comments from all of my readers? Was it the fact that the boys had two friends over for most of the day and I did not see them because they were too busy playing crab apple fights deep within our very own jungle of knotweed? (Ya gotta love country kids!) Was it because Baby Girl was so consumed with packing for her upcoming trip to Quebec that I had the entire day all to myself just puttering around the house performing my favourite chore, the laundry? (I kid you not! I love laundry day!) Was it the fact that a dear friend of mine called me yesterday to assure me that I had nothing to fear because my nesting frenzy has not reached the critical level of ridiculousness as hers did when she was nine months pregnant and decided to move heavy bedroom furniture from one bedroom to another just because it needed to get done . . . tee hee! (I have the best friends!) Or was it simply that my poor brain and body could no longer handle the stress of it all? (Not to mention my poor family . . . eeeek!). 

Well, whatever the reason, it is over, and to prove just how over it really is, check out these pictures. Yep, those are my adorable monkeys being well, monkeys, at Zoe's soccer game last night. What would have sent me into a fit of rage just two days ago, caused me to erupt in giggles and grab my camera to document just how foolish these two can be.

Who sees a hill and thinks: 

Awesome! I must grab my brother so we can roll down together.

And then after getting a mouth full of grass and a couple of kicks and punches from the brother as you propel him down the hill thinks:

Let's do it again!!

and again . . .

and again . . . 

I love my boys!  BUT please pray that Thing 4 is a Harriet because I really don't know how much more testosterone my little blue house can handle . . . tee hee!

And now we're off . . . have a great day!

We Interrupt This Winter to Bring You Some Sunshine and Warm Temperatures!

Yesterday, after lunch, the boys and I pushed our school books aside and headed outdoors to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and spring-like temperatures.  March, you are such a tease!

First, the boys had to test out the trampoline to make sure the winter didn't damage it.

Next, we walked down to the river to check out the spring thaw.  It is so exciting to see pools of water where there was once only ice.  Oh, and the smells.  Standing on our favourite rock, I couldn't help but take in a deep breath and savour the the fresh, crisp smell of spring. Sometimes I wonder if I even breathe in the winter.

On our way back up the hill, the boys decided to check on the camp they had made in the woods last autumn.

The ground was so mucky!

They were ecstatic to find the teeter totter they had made was still working.  Country kids!

Being the beautiful afternoon that it was, none of us were ready to go in just yet so we grabbed Scout's leash and walked down the road to see what interesting things we could find.  Thanks to all the rain we had on Wednesday, all the nearby waterfalls were overflowing.  They were beautiful, and not to mention, noisy.  At one in particular, we couldn't hear each other talking over the sound of the rushing water.  Even though it was tremendously loud, it felt so peaceful.  Elliot and I didn't want to leave, but poor Avery was having a difficult time restraining Scout from chasing a couple of taunting chipmunks, and so after a little bit we decided to move on.

Our next stop was a local beach.  Since our beach was still pretty iced over, Scouty was unable to play in the water, which is his favourite pastime.  Luckily, this beach was open and he quickly got to work digging up rocks . . . tee hee!  He is such a funny dog.

He would have had a lot more fun if we had taken him off of his leash, but since there was still a few sheets of ice out there and this was right around the same time of year our previous dog, Sport, died after getting caught under the ice, the boys refused to listen to my pleas on Scout' behalf.   Nonetheless, he didn't seem to mind.  Scout is just happy being where ever there is water and his family.

Such a wise puppy.

Happy Friday!

The Tao of Elliot

Elliot is my most quotable child, and yesterday took the cake.  Initially, when he said it, I laughed, thinking to myself:

What a nut!

(in the most loving and affectionate manner possible)

But, what he said stuck with me throughout the day.  When Mr. Level-Headed and I woke up at 3am to a strange vibrating sound coming from my desk, which turned out to be nothing but Baby Girl's cell phone letting us know it was running out of batter power, I thought of it again.  Then sleep eluded me because I continued to think about it.

This boy may be onto something!

Now before I just blurt it out,  I must warn you this idea is not to be trifled with.  You should not simply think about it and brush it away with a chuckle as I initially did.  No, you need to allow this thought to meander through the hallways of your subconscious, take root in one of the deepest caverns of your mind, and blossom into something brilliant, which it will.  Trust me!  

Without further adieu, I present to you a most precious gem from the Taoism of Elliot:

How can I possible learn if you insist on teaching me the right way.

(said in response to some math instruction)

It's so bohemian, so unschooling-like, and so profound. 

Later that evening, after he dismissed my demonstration of the "right" way, Elliot decided to use his chopsticks like this. 

By golly, I think this boy has a little more Skov-Nielsen in him than we thought!

Happy Thursday!