Its awfully quiet...Granny hopped on a plane this morning and the boys are at school. I'm sitting at my desk in the new kitchen, on my own, wondering what on earth I should be doing with myself. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have so much stuff I could be doing right now - organizing the office, filling all the nail holes in the baseboards, writing a shopping list, going grocery shopping, making meals ahead of time and freezing them, the list goes on - but I feel so overwhelmed by not having little people with me that I'm kind of paralysed here. I've checked the internet a million times, made myself a second breakfast, read the school newsletter and made myself a cup of tea, but it all feels a little odd. I think tomorrow I'll definitely have to go and actually DO one of those aforementioned chores or else I can totally see myself getting sucked into daytime tv or trashy internet sites. Okay, I should say more trashy internet sites than the ones I already read. Or I could just blog a lot.
Speaking of my pumpkins at school, it seems as though they're really doing well. The teachers have said they're very verbal (meaning they don't stop chatting) and are quite happy to play without each other. However, William does often stop what he's doing and suddenly say "where's Owie? OWIE?? Where's Owie?!" Once they point his brother out to him, Will then calmly goes back to what he's doing. I guess he just likes to know he's still there. But the teachers said Owen "couldn't care less where Will is". They're so funny, these little people of mine, they honestly keep me guessing, hopping, worrying, laughing all day long.
On Monday, a non-school day, Owen bit Will so hard on the cheek that he left a huge mark and the poor guy's face swelled up. I have no idea what Will did to deserve such treatment, but we were both highly unimpressed with his brother's actions. In the back of my mind I was also thinking "Oh great, now we're going to go to school tomorrow and everyone will know I've got a couple of biters on my hands!" Before we left for school on Tuesday, I sat the boys down and said "No biting, no hitting, no pinching and no throwing sand at school, do you understand?" We went through the list a couple of times to make sure they got it, but I wasn't too sure it had really sunk in. There was definitely a "yeah, yeah, lady, whatever" quality to their answers. But at pick up that day, Mrs S, one of the teachers, told me that at circle time, when they were discussing school rules, etc, one little boy said 'We should never hit anyone" and Will and Owen both started yelling at the same time 'Yeah! Yeah! My mummy says you NEVER hit, or bite, or pinch or..." She said they were quite forceful and that I'd clearly made an impression. Huh. So sometimes they actually do listen!
I'm really starting to hope that some of the stuff we say at home (well, the good stuff anyway) makes its way into their regular vocabulary in the big wide world. I recently heard the boys playing together in the other room and the conversation was lovely:
Will: "You yike some of dis food, baby?"
Owen: "Oh, no tanks, but tank you for askin'."
I couldn't get the smile off my face for the rest of the morning.
****
I just went to pick up the boys and when I asked how they were, Mrs O told me that it was fine, but...They were being very disruptive at snack time with another little boy, A, who was sitting between them. Apparently they weren't listening to the story that was being read and were chatting with their new buddy instead. So the teacher has decided they won't be sitting them next to A anymore. I think I should just stop asking how they did.
Once we came home, the boys and I ate lunch. They did really well and ate a curried chicken pita sandwich with chopped up cauliflower and grapes inside. They didn't know about the grapes and the cauliflower, I just told them it was chicken, but they sat there and ate it without any comments. They seem to be doing better and better with food these days, and I think its because I've finally decided that I just don't care if they don't like it or eat it. What's there is there and if they decide not to eat it, that's their problem. And more often than not, if Will starts to whine about what's on his plate, or Owen says "I no yike dis", I tell them fine, you don't have to eat it, you can leave the table. The option of leaving never really appeals to them if they're hungry so they usually just eat in the end. Hurray to me for not giving in! Hurray to them for being brave enough to try new foods. I think it also helps that we've decided to put the high chairs away and just let them sit like "big boys" and that we try very hard to sit and eat with them, rather than leaving them alone at the table whilst we do other things.
The biggest food surprise came this summer when I discovered that both kids absolutely love veggies and dip, but only if its served in the proper plate. I've tried giving them their own individual veggie and dip plates with no luck, but the pottery bowl below that we bought up at the cottage is their preferred method to eat raw veggies and interesting dips. We're particularly fond of an arugula and almond dip that tastes kind of like pesto. And if there's a day when I feel like they didn't get enough greens, I just give them this for dinner and they're perfectly happy.
Last Friday's dinner
"Here you go, baby", says William as he shares a tomato
Speaking of my pumpkins at school, it seems as though they're really doing well. The teachers have said they're very verbal (meaning they don't stop chatting) and are quite happy to play without each other. However, William does often stop what he's doing and suddenly say "where's Owie? OWIE?? Where's Owie?!" Once they point his brother out to him, Will then calmly goes back to what he's doing. I guess he just likes to know he's still there. But the teachers said Owen "couldn't care less where Will is". They're so funny, these little people of mine, they honestly keep me guessing, hopping, worrying, laughing all day long.
On Monday, a non-school day, Owen bit Will so hard on the cheek that he left a huge mark and the poor guy's face swelled up. I have no idea what Will did to deserve such treatment, but we were both highly unimpressed with his brother's actions. In the back of my mind I was also thinking "Oh great, now we're going to go to school tomorrow and everyone will know I've got a couple of biters on my hands!" Before we left for school on Tuesday, I sat the boys down and said "No biting, no hitting, no pinching and no throwing sand at school, do you understand?" We went through the list a couple of times to make sure they got it, but I wasn't too sure it had really sunk in. There was definitely a "yeah, yeah, lady, whatever" quality to their answers. But at pick up that day, Mrs S, one of the teachers, told me that at circle time, when they were discussing school rules, etc, one little boy said 'We should never hit anyone" and Will and Owen both started yelling at the same time 'Yeah! Yeah! My mummy says you NEVER hit, or bite, or pinch or..." She said they were quite forceful and that I'd clearly made an impression. Huh. So sometimes they actually do listen!
I'm really starting to hope that some of the stuff we say at home (well, the good stuff anyway) makes its way into their regular vocabulary in the big wide world. I recently heard the boys playing together in the other room and the conversation was lovely:
Will: "You yike some of dis food, baby?"
Owen: "Oh, no tanks, but tank you for askin'."
I couldn't get the smile off my face for the rest of the morning.
****
I just went to pick up the boys and when I asked how they were, Mrs O told me that it was fine, but...They were being very disruptive at snack time with another little boy, A, who was sitting between them. Apparently they weren't listening to the story that was being read and were chatting with their new buddy instead. So the teacher has decided they won't be sitting them next to A anymore. I think I should just stop asking how they did.
Once we came home, the boys and I ate lunch. They did really well and ate a curried chicken pita sandwich with chopped up cauliflower and grapes inside. They didn't know about the grapes and the cauliflower, I just told them it was chicken, but they sat there and ate it without any comments. They seem to be doing better and better with food these days, and I think its because I've finally decided that I just don't care if they don't like it or eat it. What's there is there and if they decide not to eat it, that's their problem. And more often than not, if Will starts to whine about what's on his plate, or Owen says "I no yike dis", I tell them fine, you don't have to eat it, you can leave the table. The option of leaving never really appeals to them if they're hungry so they usually just eat in the end. Hurray to me for not giving in! Hurray to them for being brave enough to try new foods. I think it also helps that we've decided to put the high chairs away and just let them sit like "big boys" and that we try very hard to sit and eat with them, rather than leaving them alone at the table whilst we do other things.
The biggest food surprise came this summer when I discovered that both kids absolutely love veggies and dip, but only if its served in the proper plate. I've tried giving them their own individual veggie and dip plates with no luck, but the pottery bowl below that we bought up at the cottage is their preferred method to eat raw veggies and interesting dips. We're particularly fond of an arugula and almond dip that tastes kind of like pesto. And if there's a day when I feel like they didn't get enough greens, I just give them this for dinner and they're perfectly happy.
Last Friday's dinner
"Here you go, baby", says William as he shares a tomato
I love this family of mine
Right, now its time for me to put the monkeys to bed for their nap and maybe I can actually get a little rest in too, although I think I really should have done more this morning to deserve one. I guess I was growing a baby all morning, right?
2 comments:
Are you calling my blog trashy?!! ;) I kid.
Glad the boys are hearing SOME of what you say! I always just hope it will sink in sooner or later, right? RIGHT?!?
Mmmm ... I started watching Rachel Ray when I was on maternity leave as a great way to postpone all other meaningful activities. So not really much better than trashy internet sites then ;o)
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