Overgebleven

I've got a small whiteboard on the fridge where I put my dinner ideas for the week.  I don't usually assign the meals to days, but kind of play it by ear depending on how my day is going & how long some meals will take to prepare.

A few weeks ago I did a bit of research, and put my list on the board

- Hot Dogs, & Mac & Cheese 

- Make Your Own Pizza 

- Overgebleven

The kids were excited, Chancery loves Mac & Cheese, Asher loves Pizza, and what was the mysterious "Overgebleven"?

I told them, "You'll have to wait to find out, but it's Dutch, and I think you'll like it!

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The day came when the only thing left on the board was "Overgebleven".

"Tonight's the night!" they said to each other excitedly.

I called them to the kitchen at 5pm, and handed them each an empty plate.

"Where is it? What is Overgebleven?" they asked.

I pulled the leftover Mac & Cheese, Hot Dog, & Pizza out of the fridge and told them to load up their plates.

Kids: "What do you mean?  We're supposed to have Overgebleven!"

Me: "This is overgebleven. it's 'Leftover' in Dutch!"

And that was the night the children ate through tears, and I learned (once again) not to get the children's expectations too high, because apparently even though they liked the original food, having it again as a leftover when it was masquerading as something new and fun is MEAN!

Little Chef

Today Chancery wanted grilled cheese for lunch, & since she's 10, I decided she could make it herself.  After complaining that she didn't know how to cook, I gave her step-by-step instructions, & the sandwiches were successfully made.  As she sat down at the table I heard her tell Asher, "I'm going to marry a man who can cook everything, because I really hate cooking!"

Summer TV Drought

Summer is both a good time & bad time for TV shows for me.  It's good because there are less shows I like during the summer, so I can get caught up on the shows I have fallen behind on, but it's also bad because sometimes in the evenings I feel like there is nothing good to watch at all!  After I go on holidays I always have a look through my SideReel tracker & decide what shows I don't think are worth trying to get caught up on, & I pare down what I watch.  When it seems like there's just nothing good to watch, I'll start a shows that didn't really interest me initially, but I have heard a lot about, which is how I came to watch 13 Reasons Why.

What I had heard about it before watching was that it was dark, & it was about a girl who committed suicide.  That's all I knew.  Now, after watching all of season 1, I have to say it's a really well written show that is a pretty accurate portrayal of high school.  Not every high school has all the same dynamics, but there are a lot of things going on in the students' lives that they just don't feel they can talk about with any of the adults in their lives, or even some of their peers.  Some of the issues they face could have been avoided had they just told an adult, or talked to their friends about them, but instead they all felt like they were alone, & because of that, they had to face many of their problems alone.  Also, you see the kids refusing to acknowledge things they may have done, & repeatedly make the situation worse by trying to cover it up, or bully others into denying it as well.

Would I recommend it?  Yes.  Now there is swearing, & there are adult themes, & the last episode is a bit graphic, but I'd still recommend it.  It's not fluffy, mindless TV.  Watch it more like a documentary.
Now, for who I'd recommend it to:

-If you know your children have watched this show, you should also watch it.
-Watch it if you work with kids.
-If you have kids who are heading off to University or College, watch this show with them.  Even if they seem well adjusted, a lot of things go on at college/university that they have not encountered before, & them knowing you are aware of what is going on with their peers can open up some amazing dialog.

Don't pretend it's not happening.  It's way more prevalent than you can imagine.  Watch it, & talk about it with your kids.

Just a Trim

Chancery was in dire need of a haircut.  Her split ends had split ends, & now that school is out we had time to go to the salon.  She was called back to sit in the chair, & started to explain to the hairdresser what she'd like done.  Chancery turned to me & said, "I got this, Mom, you just go & sit down."

So off I went to sit & read my book while she chatted away with the hairdresser, & communicated how she wanted her haircut.  Perhaps some layers?  Just a little off the bottom?

Nope, she decided to donate 10 inches of her hair, & is thrilled with the results!  It's much cooler for summer, but there won't be anymore braids for awhile!

Jump For Joy!

For the past year, Asher & Chancery had been begging for a trampoline.  Chad & I decided that they could pool their allowance & Birthday money & buy one together.  We researched online prices & found the best option was to buy from the States & have it shipped to my parents.  After a few months, the kids had saved enough money, & we ordered the trampoline in October.  We decided it didn't make sense to put it together just before winter, so we held off, & we were glad we had when we got snow in December.

In February, once it had all melted we decided it was time to assemble!

About an hour later & the kids were bouncing all around!

Now, a week later we have another foot of snow, so it's a bit too wet & chilly for bouncing, but as soon as the weather warms up the kids'll be back at it!

A Lesson in Innocence

Saturday night we went out to dinner, & a few booths over, we saw a familiar face.  Chancery was trying to figure out who we were talking about, so she started pointing to various people.  We have tried teaching her that pointing at people is bad manners, so we were trying to discourage her pointing to everyone in our vicinity.

 

Asher decided to weigh in on the conversation, “And especially don’t point with your middle finger, Chancery.  It means a very bad word.  It means the ‘S’ word.  I don’t want to say it, but it’s S-T-U… you know what.”

Experiment Time

A few weeks ago, Asher decided to do an experiment with snow.  He wanted to see how long it would take snow to melt, so he took some snow from outside where the temperature was 4°C.  The temperature inside the house was 20°C.  He took pictures of the snow every 5 minutes.  It took 1 hour & 15 minutes for his chunk of snow to melt completely!  We asked if he wanted up to put the results on Facebook, & he was adamant that we ‘publish’ it!

 

 

What did I expect would happen?

-I expected it to melt in 3 days.

 

What did I like best about this experiment?

-That it melted in only 1 day, & it was easy.

 

What did I learn from it?

- I learned that whenever you take ice in your hand, it would take about half an hour to melt.

 

Anything else you’d like to say?

- When it’s in a cup it takes 1 hour & 15 minutes.  And not half an hour.

Explore

The weather has been warming up this last week.  By warming up I mean it’s up around 10° during the day.  After school today Asher & Chancery went out to play.  A short time later the front door opened & Asher asked, “Mum, is it ok if Chancery & I go on an explore all around?  We’ll just be gone for about 30, or 20 minutes.”

 

I gave them clear boundaries of where they needed to stay in the neighbourhood, & with strict instructions to stay together they were ready for adventure.

 

A little while later Asher came in the house, “Look what I found, Mum!  Someone lost this key!  It’s all muddy, can you clean it for me?  I found it in the neighbour’s yard!  Where the cat lives!  It was just under a rock!  Someone must have lost it!”

 

With strict instructions to put it back exactly where he found it & to stop digging in other people’s yards, he was off again, to find more adventure.

 

When the kids came back a little while later, Chancery told me that she found a tennis racket on someone’s lawn, but she left it there, even though she really wanted to play with it.

 

I love that we live in a neighbourhood that is safe enough for the kids to be able to wander freely in (within reason).  I remember having a lot of fun roaming around with my friends in my neighbourhood when I was younger, & I think it’s an important part of growing up & becoming independent.  Hopefully the kids remember to respect other people’s property & leave it alone!

Justice

Asher & Chancery were playing with our Playmobile Nativity set.  Asher was playing with the angel, & flew up to PChad & asked…

Asher (angel): I need to ask God if I saw a cow kill some sheep, if I should kill the cow.”

PChad: “Well, that’s up to God to decide.”

Asher: “But can I kill it?”

PChad: “We are supposed to do to others what we want them to do to us, so do you think you should kill the cow?”

Asher: “But if I kill it, then it can’t kill me because it will be dead!”

PChad: “Do you want someone to come & kill you?”

Asher: “No.”

PChad: “Then you shouldn’t kill someone else.”

Asher then went off to play some more.  Then he came into the kitchen & started playing by the table.  He kept putting the angels’ face on top of the salt shaker…

Asher: “I looked into the future, & saw that I should not kill the cow.”

So… we got to the answer through looking into the holes of the saltshaker to see the future…

Teaching

You probably have noticed that my blog has become quite quiet these days.  This is in part due to the kids both being in school, & not having as much time spent together means not having those fun/odd conversations as often.

 

Also, I have been crazy busy!  I’m not really sure what has added to the craziness, but it seems the days are flying by!

 

I have increased the number of days that I help with math at the local school to 2 mornings a week.  I have really enjoyed being able to to delve into the world of Algebra once again!

 

I tutor a variety of grade levels/abilities.  One group is just learning the F.O.I.L. method for problems like this:

(2x-4) (5x+2)

it’s one of my favourite lessons!  Some students are just getting into multiplying & dividing fractions (so fun!).

 

One thing I discovered when I was in college & thinking about becoming a teacher is that I would much rather reinforce concepts that has been taught in class rather than stand up in front of a classroom full of kids & teach it myself.  This time at the school has really solidified that for me.

 

I have also discovered that if a student has the basic math concepts down & just needs a little extra guidance I can often reword the problem or explain it in a way that helps them to understand it a bit more.  But the problem I have been faced with a few times is the student who knows their times tables, fractions, decimals, but has issues with adding & subtracting 2 digit numbers.  No matter how many ways I have tried wording it, I can’t get a correct answer for 10-9.  So, I need some help!  Please offer any tips/suggestions, I’m stumped on this one!

Patience

Chancery was playing in the living room the other day & I was doing something in the kitchen.  She called out…

 

Chancery: “Can you help me?”

 

Me: “Yes give me a minute.”

 

Chancery: “Give you a minute?”

 

Me: “Yes, just a minute.”

 

Chancery: “I can’t, I don’t have any minutes in my purse!”

Amazing E!

Chancery was having quite time looking at books in her room today when I heard a little voice call out, “Mummy?  Or Daddy?  Or anybody?  Did you know that the letter E can make sounds like ‘eee!’ or ‘eh’?”

“That’s pretty neat isn’t it?” I replied.

“Yes it is!” Chancery responded, then went right back to her reading.  It’s so fun to hear kids start to understand letters, words, & reading!

Wet Sweater

I was telling PChad at breakfast today that Asher had found his sweater that had been missing for a few days.  Asher was playing outside the other day, & held his dripping wet sweater up announcing, “I found my favourite sweater!”  It had been through a few rainstorms in it’s week outside.

 

PChad turned to Asher & said, “It’s not good to leave your clothes outside.  They can get mildew on them, & that’s not good for your skin, & it won’t come out of your clothes, & they will stink.”

 

Asher: “What’s mildew?”

 

PChad: “It’s a black organism that grows on wet things.”

 

Asher: “Well, you can wash the mildew off.”

 

PChad: “No, it doesn’t come out, & your clothes will always stink.”

 

Asher: “Well, you get the mildew off your skin.”

 

PChad: “I don’t have mildew!”

 

Asher: “Yes!  It grows in your arms at night while you are sleeping, & then you put that stick in your arms in the morning to take it away!”

 

I asked, “Do you mean deodorant, Asher?”

 

Asher: “Yes!  It takes the mildew away!”

 

PChad: “That’s not mildew, that’s just for sweat.”

 

Asher: “I’ve seen the blackness under your arms, Daddy.”

 

At this point PChad & I were both laughing, but I had figured out what Asher was referring to, “That’s just hair under PChad’s armpits, not mildew, Buddy!”

A Little Treat?

A few days ago I had some errands to run, & I had to take the kids with me after school.  Asher doesn’t like having to go anywhere after school, he would much rather stay home & play outside, but there was no getting around it.  I offered to take the kids to Tim’s if they behaved themselves in the stores.

 

They weren’t angels, but they did their best to earn their donuts, so I let them pick what kind they wanted, & I told them to choose which kind of juice they wanted to share.  If they couldn’t agree, they’d have water instead.

 

After some negotiating, I heard Asher ask Chancery, “Would you like to have some of the Peach Poison Juice?”

I think we may have to work on his reading a little this summer!

Candy Man?

I just overheard Asher saying to Chancery, "Come on little girl, get in my car & I'll give you some candy!"

 

Chancery was willingly following him to the ‘car’.

 

I had a nice little chat with them about not going anywhere with strangers, “even if they offer you puppies!”

 

Chancery very seriously shook her head at me, & said, “I can’t go with you, Asher, you are a stranger!”

A Lesson In Government

I had to bring some papers to our accountant today, & I was trying to get the kids moving.

 

Me: “Come on, we need to go see the tax man!”

 

Asher: “We shouldn’t go see him, he’s just going to take our money!”

 

Me: “Well, we have to give it to the government anyway, & the tax man is the guy who makes sure we give the right amount.”

 

Asher: “But he never gives US any money back!”

 

Me: “Yes, he does.  Sometimes we pay too much & then he gives us some back.”

 

Asher: “What is the government anyway?”

 

Me: “It’s a group of people who make the rules, & then make sure people are following the rules.”

 

Chancery: “I wish the tax man could babysit us sometime.”

 

Asher: “He can’t babysit us!  He’s a MAN!”

 

…next up, a lesson in gender roles???

Dinnertime Prayer

Asher was taking his turn praying his own prayer at dinner the other night, & I had to stop myself from laughing a few times.  It’s just so funny the way kids think sometimes.  But I wanted to be sure not to forget this one…

 

“God, you are awesome, & we love you.  Everyone in the whole world is happy because of you.  But there are some people who don’t know you, and you will defeat them, & forgive them.  Thank you for everything, everywhere in the whole universe.  Amen.”

 

We had just been explaining what the word ‘defeat’ meant, but I don’t think he really understood…

Night Vision

Asher & Chancery were commenting on how dark it was outside around 4 pm the other day…

 

Chancery: “It’s dark outside.”

 

Asher: “Yes it is, Chancery.”

 

Chancery: “We need to have a flashlight so we can see if we go out there.”

 

Asher: “Not if we are candle people.”

 

Me: “Wouldn’t a candle person get burned?”

 

Asher: “No, they only have fire on their heads, & it doesn’t burn them because it’s the Holy Spirit!”

 

Me: “Oh, you mean like when the tongues of fire came down at Pentecost?”

 

Asher: “Yes!  I want to be like that so I can see in the dark!”

 

Me: “Well, I’m not sure that it helped them see in the dark.”

 

Chancery: “But it was fire on their heads, so they could see!”

 

I guess we’ll just have to add that to the list of things we need to ask God about someday…

Wilderness Tip

Summertime’s headed our way, & many of you will be headed to the great outdoors to go camping.  I thought this was the perfect time to share this instructional video with you…

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Sacrifice

We have been encouraging the kids to pray their own prayers at lunchtime, which has resulted in Asher developing a prayer & proceeding to sing it.

 

“Thank you, God, for everything.  Everything around us when we are outside, & everything around us inside.  Thank you, THANK YOU for everything, everything, ♫♪ eve-ry-thiiiing!♪♫

 

Chancery caught on, & began using Asher’s prayer as well.  Even this prayer started to become rote, so we told the kids they should be more specific about what they are thankful for which resulted in Chancery’s…

 

“Thank you for my fork, and thank you for my milk, and thank you for…  *sigh* Daddy’s fork.  Amen!”

 

So the other day, we were quite surprised when Asher came up with the following prayer out of the blue.

 

 

“Dear God, when people are dying, they have to kill a lamb so the lamb dies instead of them dying.  Amen.”

 

Apparently he got confused about the story of the Passover (Exodus 12) that we had read during devotions the day before…