The Plus Side of Unemployment...

Jeff has been out of work since May.  It is a miracle that we are both still alive. :)

It's been nice having him around to help out with the kids I look after.  Depending on who I have, I may be able to have an appointment or pop out for a quick errand at nap time.  He'll get down on the floor and play trucks with the boys.  For some reason the boys are fascinated with the "big kid" in their midst.

The other plus is that Jeff has had time to do a home improvement project.  We have lived in this house for five years.  A three bedroom house with three kids may work for some families but not this one.  Since Lydia was born, she has shared a room with us, a room with her sister and then a room with her brother.  With Parker being 9 1/2 , it wouldn't be much longer that he would put up with his younger sister.  In August we put new basement windows in.  We discovered that our basement wasn't cold just from drafty windows but also from a lack of insulation.  A bedroom was built for Parker, walls were insulated, a heater put in and we are hoping to be able to use our basement much, much more this winter.  Here's the final result:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

When Lydia had her surgery, Claire went along to the hospital with her.

Claire is her American Girl doll that we found at Value Village last fall.

She injured an eye and so we sent her off to the American girl Doll Hospital.  Because her eye was defective, her visit to the hospital was free.  She came back with a Get Well balloon, a bracelet and a hospital gown.

Isn't she cute? Now if only we could find her missing shoe.

It's true!!!

The best things in life are free....or cheap.

The boys (mine and two extras) have been going to some free day camps put on by local churches.  They have been having a blast.  This week is pirate camp and next week is time travel.

 

I took the youngest two, Lydia and Finn for a walk/ride on Harbour passage this morning.
 
Finn was in the stroller- a freecycle stroller. :) Lydia on her bike that was either from a friend or freecycle. :)

They were thrilled with just watching the Coast Guard boat come in and seeing a train go buy.  She's been waiting all summer to go for this ride.  Probably wasn't the best day as she's feeling yucky with a cold.

We saved a worm from the pedestrians.


This afternoon the 5 oldest are at the school playground program for an ice cream party.

Happy Birthday Mom

Make a Smilebox greeting

I won't say how old she is but we got married on her 50th birthday.

Happy 14th anniversary Jeff.

Slip Sliding Away

With Jeff laid off and me having a home daycare, we can't always do what we'd like to on a nice hot day.  The nearest water park is almost 2 hours away and not my cup of tea.  The beach is about 15 minutes but we don't always have room in the van.  Out of desperation for summer fun that is cheap and can be done in our back yard, I've come up with a few water activities that are relatively inexpensive and easy to do.

Four years ago we made a slip and slide with a sheet of plastic.  That summer I was very, very pregnant and not up to lugging kids to the beach.  We also went about three weeks without a vehicle. ( It's an amusing story)  Then Lydia arrived and I wasn't taking a newborn to the beach.

This year I improved on the design of the slip and slide and hopefully we'll make it last the whole summer.  Here's how to make your own backyard waterpark.

Materials: 

• a roll of vapour barrier $29.99 at Home Depot and I have enough for about 4 slides


• 10 plastic tent pegs - we found them at the dollar store


• 9 tennis balls- dollar store


• duct tape- I found duct tape sheets at the dollar store and they were just the perfect size.  10 small sheets for $1


• a hose and nozzle


• cheap soap or baby shampoo- The dollar store shampoo I bought was a little too runny.  Dish detergent woks well but depending on the age of your kids, you'll want something that is non-stinging.


• a pool noodle


• a good pair of scissors

Roll out your vapour barrier and cut it in half.  Mine was 4-4.5 ft wide- that just encourages more kids on the slide at once and the potential for tears if not injuries.  You can also cut it to a good length for your yard.  I have enough left to keep us going for a few years.

I stitched a "hem" in the end of my slide.  This creates a pocket for the pool noodle and the reason for this is two fold.  It creates a bumper at the bottom and it gives me a way to roll up the slide when we are done.  You could use duct tape to do this as well.  The bumper works well for little ones but not as well for bigger kids.



At four evenly spaced intervals, on either side of the slide, place a duct tape sheet.  this will keep the plastic from tearing.



Cut a slit in each tennis ball.  The tennis balls will go on top of your pegs to prevent injury.



Peg your slide down with the tennis ball pegs on each of the duct tape patches.  You might be able to forgo the pegging if you have a flat yard but we are on a slope and this would never work without securing the plasic sheet. 

Secure the hose at the top of the slide, using one of the remaining pegs.



Squirt some soap on the slide and turn on the water.  For best results, grab a buddy.





If you are using the slide for while, you may want to check the bottom of the slide.  We ended up with a mudhole.



Have Fun!!!

Blizzards for supper

 

That's right, we had ice cream for supper.

Today Parker reached a major milestone.  We took the kids swimming and just as we were finishing up, Parker said, "Hey, wanna see me glide?"  Ya OK.  He never takes his feet off the bottom of the pool.  All of a sudden, he's swimming.  We stood there in disbelief.

Years of ear infections developed a fear of water in Parker.  He used to scream and scream over having a bath so we switched to showers by age three.   5 summers ago we offered him a quarter to go into the water up to his belly button.  It worked.  Then we moved on to swimming lessons.  It was slow going and we realized that we'd get more progress with more practice as opposed to actual lessons.   Parker needs time and space to process and figure things out and you can't push him..

We have access to a free pool but during the school year it's hard to fit swimming in.  We told the kids we would try to go twice a week during the summer since they weren't signed up for any evening activitites.  Apparently, the frequent swims are producing results.

And that is why we had Blizzards for supper.  A celebration of a wonderful milestone.

Summer Bingo

Have you heard of Summer Bingo?????  Helen wrote about it on her blog.  I thought I would give it a try.  There are too many kids in and out of our house this summer to have a formal chore chart.  So far the kids are looooving it!!! And so am I.  At the end of the first week, all three kids have completely filled in their cards.

Basically you make a bingo card and in each box, you put an activity for the kids.  You can customize for each child.  I used clipart for Lydia's bingo.



It can be a learning activity, hygiene habits, physical activity or just plain fun.   It seems to have united the kids and they are working together to get their cards filled in.  The girls naturally want to get it done and Parker doesn't want to be left behind.  Here's the link to the creator of Summer Bingo http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/altogether_too_happy/2009/06/quote-for-june-18.html 

 I'm sneaking in chores that the kids may have to do, along with playing Wii Outdoor Challenge and DDR.  Games that are fit and fun but not ones the gravitate towards.  Hannah made peanut butter cookies for the first time as a result of Summer Bingo.  Parker is reading his library books and Lydia, seeing the older two reading, is doing the same.  She's using her Leappad too.  They are also playing with toys that seldom get used.  I don't think I've heard the word bored yet this summer.

As far as rewards go, I've left it up to them to decide what would be a good reward for a completed card.  This week was  a DQ Blizzard.

 

(If you sign up for the DQ Blizzard fan club, you can get 2 for 1 coupons.  http://www.dairyqueen.com/ca-en/ )

Wii Recycle

We just rearranged our basement "rec"room and the Wii is down there.  With the new setup, the Wii has gotten alot more attention lately.  We don't have room for recycling upstairs so I toss it down the stairs and the kids are supposed to put it in the proper bins.  It often piles up, I have to harrass them to do it and then it's an arguement on whose turn it is.  I found a solution- if you want to use the Wii, recycling needs to be cleaned up.  I made a sign as a reminder, Hannah wants it on a shirt or bag.

It's been working really well.  Parker always asks before he plays and the recycling is always cleaned up.

Stubby Pencils and Report Cards

Another great year of school has gone by.  The kids both had great teachers this year.

Parker continued to do well (A's and B's) and has had some of his accommodations dropped from his SEP.  The school has requested assistive technology for him.  Basically a small word processor he can use at his desk for writing assignments.

Hannah's marks were great.  All A's and A+'s except for gym.  She had a dance routine that was supposed to be performed with two of her friends.  One was away for a week and then one was absent for a few gym classes.  They never got the chance to do their routine so her mark was disappointing.  Truly not fair to the kid who was always prepared to do it.  I despise group assignments.

Here's a sign of hard work.

Most dedicated Shimpokai member

Parker brought home a trophy tonight from judo.  He earned "most dedicated" out of the three awards they gave to the kids class.  He was pretty excited and so are we.  Last summer he was assesssed by OT and he saw a neurologist.  He was diagnosed with dyspraxia and poor muscle tone.    The OT was putting in a referal for physio but when she came to the school to do a reassessment, she decided that he was benefiting more from judo 2-3 times a week than he would from the in school physio that they could provide.  After he had been to judo only a few weeks, she could already see a difference.

Parker has plugged away at judo all year, earned his white and yellow/white belts, gone to two tournaments and been defeated pretty quickly.  The tournaments are an eye opening experience.  They can be pretty aggressive, kids and instructors.  But the Shimpokai club really does practice  "gentle way".  His instructors always check in to see if he's ok after a match, letting him know not to get discouraged.  At practice, they work side by side with the kids, dividing them into smaller groups and giving extra coaching when needed. 

About 6 weeks ago, he turned the corner.  He defeated one of his rivals and he's been on a roll ever since.  His last tournament is on Saturday.

  

Little Miss's first sleepover

Lydia has been looking forward to her first sleepover for months.  She's been very excited about it.  Yesterday she had her tonsils, adenoids and tubes done.  She was such a brave girl and didn't shed a tear the whole time.  I was very impressed that this hospital waits until the kids are under before they do and IV's.  That was a big plus.  She had been trying out her dad's cpap machine so she was ready for the anesthetic mask.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Unexpected Gusts

My previous post was about Jeff losing his job and how we are dealing with it.  I think this post from http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=12805 sums it up pretty well.

A Child's Response to Life's Unexpected Gusts

--posted by Ashly on May 18, 2009

Last spring I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a Mom and her three-year-old daughter. The little girl was holding onto a string that was attached to a helium balloon.

All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl. I braced myself for some screaming and crying.

But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!"

I didn’t realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me something.

Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with, "Oh no, what should we do?"  But, remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, "Wow, that’s interesting! How can I help you?"

One thing’s for sure - life’s always going to keep us off balance with its unexpected problems. That’s a given. What’s not preordained is our response. We can choose to be frustrated or fascinated. No matter what the situation, a fascinated Wow! will always beat a frustrated Oh, no.

So the next time you experience one of life’s unexpected gusts, remember that little girl and make it a Wow! experience. The Wow! response always works.

Have FAITH like a child.

Silver Linings

 

This is week three of unemployment for Jeff.  Being "laid off" came as a pretty big surprise and his company didn't want to do it but they are short on projects for him to work on.  After we got over the initial shock, surprisingly we weren't all that worried about him finding a new job.   Despite the fact that we were supposed to get an awesome new health plan next month, we had made plans to get some major projects done and we really, really need a vacation.  We've been through soo many bumps in the past and everything has always worked out.  So what's the silver lining?  Jeff is making the most of his time off and taking care of things around the house that have been on the back burner for too long.  He's helping out with the kids I look after which means I can get out for a wolk with some and leave some home.  I can do things with the older ones that I ordinarily can't do. ( We went to a Superstore cooking class yesterday)  And he's able to put in some volunteer hours with the Family Resource Center and the school by giving them some tech support.  You would think things around here would be more more stressful but for now they are pretty relaxed.  We're dealing with unemployment with a sense of humor and the faith that all our needs will be provided for just like they always have.  There's always a new experience around the corner.

Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It's simply taking God at his Word and taking the next step. - Joni Erickson Tada -

Snip, Snip

The past few months, Hannah has mentioned cutting her hair to donate it for a wig.  There are several organizations out there that take real hair and turn it into wigs for kids with cancer.  Hannah's had long hair since kindergarten and has gotten to the point that she wanted something different.  I think we're going to send her hair to www.wigsforkids.org 

Here are some photos we took of the big day.

Back at 'er

It's been a while.  A long while since I have posted anything here.  I needed a break.  I've been very busy working on a fair for www.sjkid.com  The fair was today and we had roughly 5000 people come out.  It was an awesome day.



Lydia ready for the fair.





Lego display.  It was huge and I wish I had taken the time to get better pictures.  The LEGO guys were awesome, and really friendly.





Dr Bill came and did some explosive science experiments.  The kids were in awe and the stage was sticky.



Some of the crowd...oh wait those are my neices in orange.



And this is my oldest daughter.  She wasn't born like that.



An awesome performance by Zany Lane  They are local performers that put on a great show.



Some of our awesome volunteers.  They truly were amazing.  Never have I seen a group work so well together.



And this is how we all felt by the end of the day.  Amazing that a small group of moms can pull of such a big event on their first try.