Archives for August 2015

The New Teenager…

August 26, 2015 by Christy Leave a Comment

For more than 4 years we have had constant tension in our home regarding one of our children and their online gaming.

There is constant rule breaking and disobedience and disrespect.

4 years ago I asked my husband to get and install some program that would only allow this child and all of our children a set amount of time on the computer each day. For many varied reasons this didn’t happen. So the fighting has remained and embedded itself into our pretty much daily routine.

Up until 2 years ago the rule was every child got 45 minutes a day on the computer. After much negotiations it was upped to 60, under the condition that another 60 minutes accompany it of physical activity. If additional physical activity was done additional time would be added accordingly. And no, gym class at school and walking to and from the bus didn’t count.

Still the rule was ignored and broken.

I became a broken record. Every month or two asking and begging for timing software.

Finally, about a month ago, it all came to a head. The appropriate program was acquired and installed and works.

Now, the fights are MUCH less. The exercise is far more and I’m not the bad guy all the time.

I really wish this had happened sooner, but I’m really glad it happened at all.

Now my angry and grumpy child is happier. Gaming changes him. For the worse. He uses the “it’s how I connect with my friends” card. And yet now he Skypes them on his phone….although it is so weird because he often has it on speaker and they are talking about absolutely nothing as they all go about their chores and life at home.

Tonight we invited his best friend to come kayaking with us. Mostly to get our son to come willingly. Now he’s invited his other friend to come too. Whatever it takes to get them outside and off the computer and phone!

Slowly he’s growing up, but quickly he’s becoming a young man I’m very proud of!

The Oatmeal Dilemma…

August 25, 2015 by Christy Leave a Comment

We buy large boxes of oatmeal from Costco. The problem is it contains a portion of “regular” flavour.

My kids refuse to eat “regular.” They don’t like it. The rule has always been eat 1 package of regular to one package of flavoured.

However, this rule is rarely if ever followed.

So, I found a solution.

I bought extra yummy oatmeal.

And I premixed every single package with regular.

Goodbye regular oatmeal….

Some kids are very upset and vow to never eat oatmeal again. Other kids are hoping they can stick to their vow so that they get more!

Stressing Out…

August 24, 2015 by Christy Leave a Comment

Here it is a week until school starts and I still don’t know where I am sending our little guy for grade 2.

I desperately want to keep him where he is at, but for so many many reasons I just don’t think it’s going to work for him.

I am SO torn as to if I give it one final chance and let him start at his current school and if it isn’t working then move him in a few weeks.

But as much as I hope it’ll work I really just see indicator after indicator that it isn’t going to be his best fit.

I am so torn. If I move him I no longer drive him to and from school. We may have to spend money on before and after school care. I won’t have the connections to the other parents and his friends that I do as a bus driver at his school.

I will sacrifice so much to move him. But what he gains could be so much more.

So, this week I have 4 schools to call. And Friday Jason and I will hopefully go visit a couple.

I don’t know….when does plan B become plan A…..I just don’t know. But we are about to find out.

Thursday or Friday our teacher should call. I still don’t know who his teacher is. I’ve asked for a meeting and keep getting put off. I guess if that teacher isn’t willing to partner with us and utilize our knowledge and understanding of our son to help facilitate a successful classroom environment, then it will be plan B.

Everyone has an answer, and yet I am still not at peace with any of the options….

The Family Kayaking Day…

August 23, 2015 by Christy Leave a Comment

This weekend we went camping.

OK, we sort of went camping. We had numerous problems getting the van packed and the kids ready. We were supposed to go Friday right after work. However, the rain made us postpone our going.

We finally arrived at the camp site at 4 pm Saturday. Sunday after lunch we went to the nearby lake to try out the new tandem kayak and let the older 2 try out the new kayaks.Since the camping was in Kananaskis it was supposed to snow, which it did. And frankly I’m a prairie camper. Meaning I don’t like the words cold or snow in the same sentence as camping!

So, I think it could be better be called…the lake that wasn’t. We went to Sibbald Lake. Honestly it’s an overgrown pond. We went kayaking anyways. But we were all bored pretty quickly. After an hour we called it quits and came back home. It was fun though having the 6 of us all out. Kieran had to work so wasn’t with us.

The lesson in this… make sure the lake you are going to isn’t actually a pond! 😀

A Timely Encounter…

August 22, 2015 by Christy Leave a Comment

It took some doing, but I finally talked Jason into considering purchasing a used tandem kayak.

The reason was simple. We now have 3 adult kayaks and 1 child. But we are a family of 7. However, our oldest is resistant to coming outdoors with the family and he is now 16. He will not be around for too much longer.

I am resistant to the idea of having too many more kayaks.

Also I am eager to begin spending more time alone with my husband. Just the 2 of us kayaking alone together.

If we bought the tandem kayak used, not only would it save us a significant amount of money and space (not storing 3 more kayaks) and it would allow my husband and I to kayak together and on occasion with our youngest child along too.

So, I looked on Kijiji. Showed Jason what I found. We researched all the options and saw the pros and cons of each. Still he wasn’t completely onside with the one kayak I’d seen and wanted.

I asked him if I could make an offer on the kayak. He said OK. So I made an offer and it was accepted.

I had to call them to arrange a pickup time.

When I called, I found out where they lived and I said I knew exactly where it was because we used to go to church on that block.

So, that opened it right up. I still only knew the seller’s first name. But he knew my first and last. He had suspected that we had previously attended church together and when I made my comment he knew. He told me who he was and the world became that much smaller!

We arranged for a pick up and a visit.

As we chatted we caught up and found that we have much more in common than ever before.

I knew her son had ADD or ADHD and they had struggled with that and how to best help him. In our conversation I found out that she has since written a couple of children’s books for children with these struggles and is working g on her 3rd book. She gave us a copy of the first book.

(If you are interested in this book let me know and I will gladly help you get a copy. Not sure of the cost, but worth every penny!)

When we got home Keilan eagerly read it and he found that it gave him words for how he felt in certain situations. He really liked it.

She also told us of all her research and findings and what has been most helpful for them. She is highly educated to begin with and is a psychologist. She really gave us a huge boost of encouragement on our journey with our son. We will for sure be getting together again in a few weeks to meet. It was a great connection. We always had chatted at church and got along well. But this unexpected encounter was a huge blessing to us!

I don’t believe that things happen by accident and I believe that our meeting was something we needed. We needed encouraging and uplifting and understanding. And we got all that and more! What an incredible blessing!

Oh, and we got the tandem kayak too!