Boogie Boy

It was a nice break from solo parenting to take on dinner time with my friend Renee and our collective four children. (Both hubbies happened to be out of town for work.) Okay, so it's never 'restful', but it does make that evening pass more quickly and if you bravely opt to venture out, it leaves less meal time mess to clean up. We checked out a new local restaurant. It wasn't very busy, so the boys kicked up their heels ... literally.

"Any problem in the world can be solved by dancing."

- James Brown

MOMENT: Dance Like No One's Watching

And dance they did. Maksym got the party started, Tavish was quick to join, and Seb busted out some dancing shoes to boogie too. Keva sat this dance out, she was enjoying the last of her meal. It was a great time and the staff there were loving it and thanked us on the way out. No discount applied, but we weren't kicked out either, so we came out on top I'd say.



MOMENT: Baby Dance Moves

Keva's no stranger to dancing, as the above video may imply. She dances a lot...pretty much any time she hears music of any sort, she lets us know with her trademark moves. She even finds herself fairly entertaining. Sitting? Standing? No problem, she can move to the music!

Seek and You Will Find

When Mommy is away, the kids will play...

"Life is more fun if you play games."

- Roald Dahl

MOMENT: Ready Or Not, Here She Comes

While I was out one evening, the kids discovered a new game to play together. Tavish did the hiding. Keva did the seeking. Daddy captured the moment. Mommy shares it with you. Enjoy!

Simon

"No one has fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true educator should be to unlock the treasure."

- Emma Golman

When Tavish's class was created in October, there was another transition for Tavish and his young classmates to make. One boy, Simon, stood out. He is 3, doesn't speak much English, doesn't have any siblings, has never been away from his Mom, and was now in a class with different kids, a different teacher, and no Education Assistant. It was a lot for him. There were tears, shortened days, and his Mom having to stay with him when he was there. Tavish's teacher took this situation to be an opportunity to work on 'empathy' among Simon's classmates. It worked. It worked very, very well ...

"The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of
empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other."
- Meryl Streep

MOMENT: Kindness

Ms. T sent Tavish home with a sticker on his shirt that read "I was a caring friend today" on his second of third day in the new classroom. When I asked Tavish who he helped at school, the conversation went like this:

Mommy: Who was the friend you helped today?
Tavish: Simon. He's like a baby, but he's not a baby. He cries a lot.
Mommy: How did you help him?
Tavish: I did what I did for Keva. I say "shhh", I put my arm around him and I bring him toys
Mommy: Does Simon like that?
Tavish: Yes, it helps him to not cry and feel better

Day after day, stickers and positive comments from Ms. T have come home. "I helped to tidy up today". "I was kind to a friend today." "I was very helpful today." One day, she explained that she was going to run out of stickers and that she's never seen anything quite like this before with how helpful Tavish is with Simon.

I saw this play out myself when Keva and I showed up to the school for the Halloween parade. Tavish was in line with his classmates, holding Simon's hand. I thought he'd rush over to be with his 'digger', but I could tell he felt confident that he was where he needed to be. There was no letting go of Simon's hand either, I could tell that too. When I smiled in acknowledgement to Ms. T, she was quick to note that she didn't ask for this, but that Tavish just seems to know what Simon needs. Aw.

On more than one occasion, we've seen Simon with his Mom and when we say hello to them, she's quick to say (in broken English) "your son, it's your son, he so good! thank you! thank you for him!" or "Simon okay now. It's your boy. Thank you!" I'm pleased to report that Simon is now attending full days most of the time and, according to Tavish, doesn't cry anymore and his Mommy no longer has to stay with him.

Tavish and Simon waiting for the parade to start

Parading along hand in hand

"It's not so much the journey that's important; as is the way that we treat those
we encounter and those around us, along the way."

- Jeremy Aldana

Constructing Halloween

Tavish initially suggested he wanted to be a fire truck again this year. I had to think quickly on my feet. I knew it would be more cumbersome for him this year, so I came up with making Keva into some sort of vehicle to support his costume. (Yes, I'm going to try to get away with sibling costumes as long as they'll let me.) He liked it so the TK2 Construction Company Ltd was formed...

Foreman Tavish keeping safety a priority

Keva digging and steering clear of danger

TK2 Construction Ltd is a family company

MOMENT: It Takes a Whole Family...

There was a fair bit of sewing, taping, printing, and glueing that was required, but this construction crew was certainly equipped! Tavish and his buddy, Riley, had a good time trick or treating in the rain (with their Keva driven back-up vehicle) on our very festive street. We were surprised with the crowds - somewhere around 200 kids! We ran out of candy and blackened our home to still have a ringing doorbell. Kids take their candy seriously. Tavish does too, of course, but he can only have some of it (note: majority of candy contains either dairy or gluten). To get around this, and to support the reduction of unneeded amounts of candy, the "Switch Witch" visited Tavish. He was very excited with the mini granola bars, nuts, globe ball, and small lego kit he received in exchange for a bunch of his candy. Phew! Here's to hoping she can make an appearance for years to come...

Halloween Eve

Sweet child of mine ...

I've been 'that' Mommy, all concerned about the quality and quantity of candy that this time of year seems to invite. There's the dairy and wheat concern that people seem to accept, but my dislike for unhealthy doses of unhealthy sweets seems less socially acceptable. We went to a party at a local dance studio the weekend before Halloween where he was given a generous dose of sugar as a parting gift. Tavish put this 'loot' bag into the fridge for safe keeping after he enjoyed a candy or two. Daddy said the rest of the candy was for Halloween day.

As any normal 4 year old would, Tavish requested some candy daily between the party and the night before Halloween when he says to Tom at bedtime: "Daddy, I can give out my candy from the party to people who come trick-or-treating to our house tomorrow." He expressed that he wants to be sure we have something to give kids who come here. He really is the most generous 4 year old I've ever known. And as I was writing this (and frantically cutting yellow bristol board), I heard the patter of his feet coming downstairs. He had a sticker in his hand that his teacher stuck onto his shirt "I am a caring friend" because he was concerned that we'd forgotten to put it on his mirror with the other ones his teacher has given him. We're not the only ones who have noticed his innate kindness toward others...

We've especially noticed this in Tavish's relationship with his sister. He has always been sweet and considerate but he's even factoring Keva into his future plans. He recently likes to talk a lot about what he'd like for his birthday party in March. Turns out, he'd like to give stickers to his friends, but the best one to Keva and wants to be sure she can help him blow out the candles and will be sure to give the first piece of cake to her. He's so loving and generous...

My heart is happy.

It Happened Today

It happened on October 28th. Well, it's been happening slowly I guess and I have always known that it was coming. The shift. The pull. The separation. All summer I had a feeling that we were on the edge of a big change and I was right. Today it was obvious with this one moment...

MOMENT: Pom Pom

Tavish is growing up. Of course he is, but I mean he's growing up by separating from us being Mommy-baby, to Mom and son - he's a 'big boy'. With the weather cooling, I pulled out last year's toques and put one out with his coat. When he came to get ready for school at the front door, his words confirmed it all...

Tavish: Mommy, I don't want to wear that hat
Mommy: Okay, sure. Is there a reason?
Tavish: I don't like to wear pom poms anymore
Mommy: Oh. Okay, pick another one from the bin
Tavish: I don't want you to throw it out or give it away though, I might wear it on a weekend or something...
Mommy: I won't, not until you're ready for it to go
Tavish: yeah, I just don't want to wear it to school...
Mommy: Alright, you can wear whichever hat you'd like, but we need to get going
Tavish: so I'll tell you when I'm done with it or it's too small, then you can give it away, okay?

Aw, maybe he's feeling the separation too and is building up the courage to let go, the same way Mommy is trying to...? Either way, this loveable stripey hat won't be donned this winter ... well, unless it's on a weekend...maybe.

Stripey hat circa March 2013

Pumpkin Fun

'Tis the season to purchase pumpkins. We were off to a nearby school in search of a pumpkin patch (welcome to urban living). We found what we needed and carved out some festive faces.

My Lil' Punkins

MOMENT: Scaredy Cat and Snow-kin

On our way

Peeking for pumpkins

Found some! 

Pumpkin bodyguard

Captain carver

Meow!

Snowman pumpkin watches over breakfast

I'd picked up a single pumpkin from a market earlier, but Tavish had grander plans "want to make a snowman from pumpkins?!". Um, oh ... sure, okay. So, more pumpkins were needed. We pulled out the trusty red wagon and went searching for supplies and found what we needed down the street. Mommy drew up a design plan, Daddy ensured the creation had structural integrity, Tavish dug out seeds and Keva provided enthusiastic support - it was a full family project. We also made use of our solo pumpkin to add a feline friend to our family: a scaredy cat. Yes, we like our pumpkins creative and original....