From the mouths of babes...

From the mouths of babes…

There is nothing like having a child to keep you humble. Children will let you know exactly what they think of you at any given time. If you thought you had any sort of wisdom in the area of child rearing (we’re going to say pre-kids) those little stinkers (albeit cute stinkers) will have you second guess everything you ever thought you knew… several times a day.

I love my children. But some of the things that come out of their mouths…

I often say, I need to write more of these things down and then I don’t! So this is me writing a few things down.

I’ll start with my youngest, Zavier Shane. He is very nearly three years old, but he’s definitely catapulted into what we affectionately (or begrudgingly) call the “three-nager” stage. At any given moment he can flip the switch for his insta-attitude and he reserves the right to change his mind, opinion or stance on anything… just to make life difficult. His newest catch phrase that he mumbles if he’s particularly upset with you is, “I’m gonna punch your face!” Isn’t that lovely? What a sweetie! Thankfully, I’ve never seen him actually punch anyone’s face and yes, of course I’ve talked to him about talking like that.

Zavi in the midst of a yogurt therapy beautifying session.

Now, I know that it’s a popular opinion to teach your kids the proper names of their own body parts. I understand that it’s for safety, etc. I’m not here to dispute or affirm that, but let me tell you, there can be consequences with educating a toddler!

We were in town in the afternoon the other day, so I thought it would be nice if my two youngest and I went to pick Jett up from school. We arrived a few minutes early, so I helped Lena & Zav out of our vehicle and we walked to the school to wait by the boot room doors. When the bell rang and kids began pouring out of the school doors, someone informed me that Jett was waiting for us at his classroom. (Pardon me, your highness, my son… let me come and escort you…) SO, I brought my littles into the boot room and gave them strict instructions to stay put while I walked just around the corner to J’s classroom (literally no more than 20 steps). Call me lazy, but I didn’t want to take everyone’s boots off just to walk the 20 steps and then have to get everyone re-booted. Jett was there and ready to go, so I really don’t think I had left Lena and Zav alone for even 1 full minute, but of course my little threenager couldn’t be expected to wait that long. He was almost in 3^rd gear when I cut him off and scooped him and his boots up before he could track anything down the hall. It was a quick reaction, one fluid motion as I bent down, and lifted him by swinging my arm between his legs so that his legs were straddling my arm. It’s an awkward description, I realize, but I’ve picked him up that way many times; often when we’re playing or giving ‘airplane rides.’ Anyway, I guess he found it uncomfortable because he yelled (not with an inside voice) “OW, Don’t touch my penis!!” He then repeated the same thing at least 5 times, just in case someone in the area hadn’t heard him.

Seriously, son, thank you. 

A few of my favourite things about Zavi at this stage in his life:
-He loves his stuffies. His favourites are Puppy, Giraffy, Unicorn and Cowie-Wowie. A stuffed puppy, a stuffed lion (yes, a lion named giraffy), A black stallion (there's no unicorn horn, but it doesn't seem to matter) and of course, a cow. The cow he has on time-share with his sister. ;)
-Zavi loves to catch me when I'm crouched near the floor. He gets this irresistible twinkle in his eye and grins at me. He then says, "Give me a hug, lady!" (I love it.. The first time he said it, I melted-- was putty in his hands. He knows it. He uses it.) and proceeds to run at me full speed, trying to tackle me with a monster hug.
-And his sleep sweat. A weird thing to love, I know. Each night I put my princess on the potty (she's fully asleep.. it's rather hilarious, but necessary!) and after I return her to her bed, I lean over my baby who's sleeping on the bottom bunk, feel my way through the stuffies until I find his sweaty little face, and then I inhale a big sniff. I love it. He has his own sleepy sweaty smell and I can't get enough of it.

Kalena Jane, my sweet princess, loves to tell stories. Whether they're true and based on reality is not important. She will decide and let you know if it's true or not. Some of the tales she tells...
She also can get highly emotional in an instant. (I fear her adolescent years...) But the other day, she slipped. She admitted to me that she is capable of making herself cry. She can even produce actual tears, which makes this whole parenting thing even more of a challenge!

You gotta love the influence of a big sister...

Miss Lena also LOVES to sing and dance (although her ability to sing on key... it's not developed yet...). We took the kids to the movie Trolls a week or so ago (it was cute) and at the end  when the credits were rolling, Kalena jumped up out of her seat and ran to the front of the theatre to dance to Justin Timberlake. She considered it her stage and she poured herself into a moving performance of her own interpretive dance. Of course her little brother joined her. (cramped her style)

"She came in like a wrecking ball..."

Of my three nose-pickers, Kalena is the least shy. She will approach pretty much any adult she deems interesting (we have work to do in the whole Stranger Danger department). I caught her starting a conversation with a strange man in an airport... a few times. Her version of social boldness is paired with a form of bluntness that leads to situations that are highly embarrassing. She has no qualms about loudly informing anyone who will listen to her of the things she observes. You know, things like commenting on the appearance of people around her... things like weight, interesting hair styles or tattoos...  Honestly, I am trying to teach Kalena how to be socially sensitive, to not spout out every thought that runs through her brain... to think about how the things that she says might make someone else feel... It's a work in progress.

This pic is cute and un-assuming, but the back story is that Kalena is wearing no shoes... On October 31st, in Saskatchewan, her barefoot state went un-noticed and she trick or treated a whole block without shoes. #parentingfail

We've been trying to catch up on some appointments over the last while, and all three of my kiddos did great at their recent visit to the optometrist. I first got glasses when I was 7 (my eyesight is horrible) so I'm always praying that my children will get Mitch's perfect vision. Anyway, our optometrist is brilliant. He used Paw Patrol for the kids to watch while he checked out their eyes and they all behaved marvellously. He took them to the prize drawer afterwards as a reward and my princess boldly inquired, "Do you have any diamonds???"

Some of my favourite things about Kalena right now:
- She is SO affectionate. I get multiple "I love you's" and hugs/kisses throughout the day.
- Her hips. She's had this hip wiggle for a long time now, and it works its way into most of her dance moves. I can't call it a booty shake because this girl's got no booty!
-Her toothless grin. Having two front teeth pulled was rather traumatic for both Kalena and I, but she has such an adorable smile now.
-She has the hair I always wanted. Seriously. It took well over two years for Kalena to have any hair to speak of, but now that it's in, it's gorgeous. She can sleep on it wet, take it out of a ponytail, whatever, and all we have to do is run a brush through it and it's smooth, soft and full.
- She still pronounces several of her words with a toddler-type accent. I think it's on words that have combined vowel sounds. "Door" is one of words where we notice it the most. "The deuuu..." Kalena was talking to grandma on the phone the other day and was trying to tell her about the face-paint design she'd had drawn on her face. She was trying to say that she had a heart drawn on her forehead. I chuckled as she repeated at least a half dozen times, "No Grandma, a hawwwt!"

Kalena and her "hawwwt" design. ;)

And then there's my Jett.

Grade 1 :)

As my first born, he's been my guinea pig as I try to figure this whole parenting thing out. I know that I'm much more laid back with Zavi than I ever was with J, poor guy. I've written more about Jett than the others as I try to figure out the trick to this child-rearing process. Seriously, though, I am so proud of how my boy is learning, maturing, and growing. (Yes he IS one of the biggest 6-yr olds you'll ever see-- He thinks he's more like 10...)

I was flipping back and I came across this post I wrote about a year and a half ago. I think I was apprehensive as J was nearing the point of starting kindergarten. We're now nearly half way through grade 1, and I am thrilled with how Jett is thriving in school. He LOVES school. His favourite part about going to school would surely be that he gets to see/play with his friends, but he enjoys the school work, too!

Jett is still the energetic, mischievous boy in a large-for-his-age athletic body that I wrote about in that post a year and a half ago, but he's learning more self-control, for which I am grateful and ever-so proud. We're nearly to Christmas, and Jett's only had a couple of minor incidents at school. Here's the thing, though, when he gets off the bus at home, it's the first thing he'll tell me! I love his openness; how he comes clean with whatever may be weighing on his chest. I pray that we can keep/maintain an open and honest relationship as he grows through the years!

It was sometime in the first month of grade 1, I met Jett as he got off the bus at the end of the school day. "Hey mom, did Mrs. Tew (his teacher) send you a message?"he asked me right away. "Uhhh, no. Why?" I responded. "Well, I kinda cut my shirt today..." said sheepishly as he unzipped his jacket to reveal his batman shirt with a massive shark-bite in the front. We had a long talk about choices, the value of things and how we need to take care of our things. I think what happened was that he was exploring his school supplies while eating lunch (having school supplies accessible is new in grade 1). He took his scissors and made a small snip in the bottom of his shirt. He is a fidgeter, and as the day progressed, he pulled at the tear until it became so big that it revealed his entire tummy! His teacher had written a note in his day planner apologizing for not being on top of it, but I certainly do not blame her. ;)

Now, here is a conversation we had the other day when Jett got off the bus:

“Hey Jett, How was your day?”

“Good… Well, the first two recesses were good. The third one, I struggled.”

(I get a kick out of how he said he struggled. You can tell what kind of terminology we use!)
“Uh-oh. What happened?”

“On our way back into the school, I kicked someone.”

“Jett, why did you do that?”

“I was trying to be funny, we were goofing around.”

“Where did you kick him?”

[He points to the crotch area]

“Oh, buddy. That would hurt.”

“I didn’t know it would hurt him. I thought it would be funny. I said, sorry.”

“That wasn’t a good choice to make, J.”

“I know. The teachers talked to me and took care of it.”

We left it at that. He knew he was wrong, and he admitted/owned his poor choice and felt remorse over it. Lesson-learned.

***Sidenote-- I have a vivid memory from when I was in elementary school. There was only 1 year when myself and my 3 siblings were all in the same school. I was in grade 7, my brothers grades 5 and 1, and my sister was in kindergarten (Massey Elementary in Regina). One of my friends taught my little sister to go up to boys and kick them square in the crotch, which she did several times. She's a quick learner. ;) I may not have been directly responsible, but I didn't stop it! The crazy thing is, I don't remember any consequences resulting from this!!

"Mom, check out my muscles!"
(Note: Zavi's not wearing shoes.... ever.)

Some of my favourite things about Jett right now:

- His growing love for reading. His reading ability has been improving rapidly and the books that he brings home to read now have a decent plot line, which he enjoys.
- His understanding of spiritual things. He blows my mind with the questions he asks about God and heaven. (Our best conversations happen in the car or at bedtime)
- He is SUCH a keener. I will para-phrase what J's teacher wrote on his report card this year. She very nicely worded that he could chill out. ;) He is highly competitive and needs to be the first done his work, the first to line up at the door, etc. I don't want to completely snuff his keen-ness, but maybe just tame it down a bit.

I love being a mom and being able to watch my three little firecrackers grow up. I had a moment not long ago where the thought occurred to me that I don't have much longer where I'll be referred to as "Mommy." How sad! We joke about the millions of times our kids call for mommy... every day, and yet time passes far too quickly.

I often pray that God will give me wisdom and patience to parent my children in the manner that they need. I am thankful.

Reclaiming Mornings

I used to be a morning person. I loved to start the day with exercise and my Bible and then the rest of the day seemed to be more productive, more purposeful.... better.

Then, I had kids. Sleepless nights turned into tired weeks, upon months, and vaporized years. I'll refer to these past 6 1/2 yrs as, "The Fog." They haven't been bad years! I've loved my babies who grew into toddlers and who are becoming incredible young people. I've loved them at all hours of the day and the night, and that changed how I lived life in a dramatic fashion.

My love for mornings turned into dread a I clung to my bedsheets for dear life as I heard the pitter patter of little feet coming to pry me from my warm haven. Or worse, the loud, "Moooooooommmm!!!!!!" that is more severe than any alarm clock as you fear one child may rouse the rest of the creatures and induce a cyclone throughout the house.

Now, my littlest babe is nearly three and my nights aren't nearly as interrupted as they once were; although I do have a loud sleep talker/caller who I have to attend to often...

I have found myself caught in this cycle of staying up way too late (because time sans children is precious) and then sleeping as long as I can until the kids wake me up and I stumble my way to the coffee maker... at about 7 in the morning (they're very consistent). My late nights consist of reality TV and/or Netflix while I'm mildly productive in reassembling a messy kitchen/living room or folding laundry. There is NO exercise or Bible reading at this time of day (night) to rejuvenate my spirit because, let's face it, my brain is tired and not at capacity to get there.

I think it was about a month ago that I was pondering my current state and I remembered, "Hey, didn't I used to be a morning person?"

I want that back.
I'm taking it back.

Of course my pondering was in the midst of summer with all of it's lack of routine and I decided to make this my mission once we were into the school year. ("I'll start... tomorrow...")Well, school started a week and a half ago and I took my two pre-schoolers for one last excursion to the lake with their cousins last week, so now we're there; back to routine.

Today, Monday September 12th, 2016, I set my alarm for 6am to begin my quest to reclaim my mornings. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've set an alarm in the past few years. (Perks of being a stay-at-home mom... and having children who are up early...) So, as I fumbled with my alarm clock for far too long trying to remember how the stupid thing shut off and then realized that it was my phone that was making the rude noises that seemed to get louder as it went on and on and on, it was a shock to the system.

When I finally got the alarm off, I was awake. Time to DO this.

I put my runners on, found my old Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and set it up on the TV in the basement. I hit the remote against the couch a few times because the stupid thing wouldn't work, then changed the batteries in the remote (worked like a charm-- apparently batteries die even when they're not being used), and got set to rock a workout amidst a sea of popcorn kernels covering the entire carpet in the area. Do my kids even get any in their mouths???? Seriously!

I got into my workout and quickly remembered how much I hate Jillian Michaels. I mean, I chase kids all day, lift bags/boxes of groceries regularly and log millions of miles circling around my kitchen sink. How can I be so out of shape???

Jett got up for his routine morning pee just before 6:30 and usually he goes back to his bed until 7, but because he saw the basement light on, he came down to join me. (not quite the plan I had in mind for my reclaimed morning, it's supposed to be kid-free, but such is the mom life). Truth be told, I was glaring at Jillian, cursing my aching body and was glad for an excuse to hit pause for a few minutes while I greeted my eldest son. My sweet boy even went and got me a cold glass of water. He then stayed and watched me trudge through the rest of my workout, cheering me on with comments like, "Mom, is that hard? It looks like it hurts! Are you tired?..." But I made it through day one of getting back on the wagon. Take that.

I shared with Jett that this 6-7am hour was only for exercise and Bible reading: ie NO electronics. He understood that if he wanted to take part with me, those were the terms. :) He did come curl up on the recliner with me and we read a passage from the Bible, talked about it and prayed together. Now, my intention is to have some private time to read my bible/pray, but if I share it with my kids sometimes, that's a-okay with me (as long as it's only one at a time... all three kids together would definitely kill the mood...). It was actually really special and refreshing to spend that time together. I have a very intelligent and insightful 6 year old. I am always amazed at the understanding he has of big/important concepts!

7am came and I did brew my first cup of coffee for the day while my other two littles trickled out of their beds. One really did trickle... out of a completely soaked bed. SO, the washer/dryer are doing their thing already. I got my boy fed/dressed and onto the bus by 7:50 and the day is well under way.

I'm sitting here writing this blog post, which I'm calling productive because I love writing and I consider it brain exercise. AND I haven't posted in a bajillion years! (Or 5 months) I feel good that I made a plan and followed through with Day 1. The Fog is lifting. I know that I have many mornings of having to pry myself out of bed against my will to get this thing going, but I WILL reclaim mornings and one day (hopefully not too long from now) it will get easier and I will look forward to waking up early again.

Now, on to a productive day.

How to NOT get on the Amazing Race

So, I think it's safe to say that another casting season has come and gone and the Producers of Amazing Race Canada have yet again dropped the ball and failed to realize that they need the sisters formerly known as Sawatzky on their show.

There have been four seasons of Amazing Race Canada, and my sister and I have submitted applications for three of the four seasons. (we were both giving birth during the second season and we neglected to submit an application). In this time, we have not been selected to be on the show. Crazy, I know. Who runs this show anyway? ;)

You may detect some sour grapes, as I've been making efforts (but not yet succeeded) to overcome the bitterness I feel in regards to being passed over...

I mean, who wouldn't want to watch some "approaching middle age" (yikes!) mamas from the prairies who are likely over-crediting their own abilities to compete in a race around the world!

Network gold, baby! ;)

Our first video audition

With our first audition, we tried to grab attention so we'd stand out from the masses of other canadians trying to get on the show. We maybe (???) put a little too much effort into trying to look capable. I'm thinking there is an issue with discrimination towards the holstein nation of our country...

I really think we could have beat the Tims (Jr & Sr) who won that season, "no problem." 

Our second video audition

After a one season hiatus (due to childbirth) we got back on the horse to throw our hat in the ring for season 3. (too many metaphors??) We thought we tamed this video down to be more of what they might be looking for, but no. My over-the-top playful jabs at trying to be funny (often at my sister's expense) were not appreciated.

So, as we put together our application for this 4th season of Amazing Race Canada, we really looked into what we thought producers want in an audition. We took the guidelines to heart... mostly ;) It was supposed to be much simpler than our previous applications; so they could really get to know us.. ;)

I know they did get our application because I received this in my inbox:

So, I'm baffled as to why we were never called! ;) 

They didn't like our song???

Our most recent video audition.

As Carrie and I made our video and applied this last time, I got the sense that my dear hubby was a little jealous. He and I had both always said that doing something like the Amazing Race would likely NOT be healthy for our marriage! Who knows, though... maybe we should give it a shot representing dairy farmers everywhere! 

Will Carrie and I submit another application for the next (2017) season?? 

Oh, probably. Our illusions of grandeur push us on.

Besides, I think we're wearing them down...

Schmalentines Day 2016

I should first say that I don't harbour any resentment towards Valentines Day. Why shouldn't their be a day that encourages couples to remember the one they cherish and make an effort to express their undying love and affection? I do think, however, that it puts a great deal of undue pressure on people to perform on ONE day of the year.
Love's a marathon, people.

For Valentines Day this year, my husband did give me some beautiful roses and he and I took a refreshing walk through the snow on a gorgeous sunny day...

...this walk was unprompted and unplanned, however, and it comes with a good story...


Schultz V-day 2016.

We returned home after church with visions of a wonderfully relaxing day at home, but as we all know, the best laid plans...

Mitch usually checks in the barn when we return home from anywhere. He loves his cows, too. ;) Of course when you're hoping for a quick routine check, something like the manure scraper cable breaks. What's that, you ask? Well, when you care for many large animals, you produce a whole lot of caca. A thing such as a scraper that hauls manure away automatically is worth it's weight in gold, I assure you.

Any-hoo, such a repair means that my dear farmer hubby will spend most of the day in the barn. :(

He did come in the house while waiting for a service guy to bring a new cable out to the farm, which gave me a window of opportunity to take Jett to his friend Shayda's birthday party without having to bring Lena and wake a napping Zav, to bring them along. Shayda lives in the country, not far from us; especially if you can travel down a summer road which connects our homes almost directly. We did receive a fair amount of snow over the weekend, but Mitch and I both agreed that as long as I took the truck, the summer road should be fine to travel.
Famous last words of country folk...

We got more than half way down the summer road before the snow was deeper than I expected and I'm sure it was glare ice underneath it. And...........stuck.

Jett and I had been talking as we drove and I'm pretty sure right before we got stuck, I said something like, "I sure hope we don't get stuck; dad has enough on his plate today in the barn." Arghhhhhhh!

Jett and I got out of the truck and decided to hike the remainder of the way to the party. This is the type of scenario where I'm thankful to have large, athletically built children because Jett was a trooper as we hoofed it through fresh snow for a a couple kms. As we walked, I texted Mitch who said he'd come get us.

Jett and I decided that it would be faster to go through the farmer's field so we could cut the corner and make our way directly to their yard, but the snow was deeper there and J's stamina began to wane. So, I picked my boy up and piggy-backed him a great deal of the way. We watched as other vehicles arrived (not by way of the summer road) and I'm sure we looked a little crazy coming across the field. My competitive-minded son joked that the others were "cheating" by getting to the party in their vehicles. ;) He and I were much more hardcore.

By the time we reached their driveway, I was feeling ALL of Jett's 60 lbs on my back and of course Mitch arrived there at the same time. Jett was relieved that we made it to the party, and we left him there to play with his friends while we went to go pull the truck out.

Mitch was driving his dad's truck (my in-laws are currently enjoying some sun in the south). We drove through a section of the field to get into a position where we could pull our truck out, BUT... as luck would have it, we got a second truck good and stuck in the snow.

I'm sure you can imagine the frustration/tension that permeated the air around me and my valentine, but thankfully(?) we had a 40 minute walk home to relieve that tension. I truly am SO thankful that it was a beautiful day with temps above zero because if it had been -30, I would not have been able to see as much humour in this story!

A brisk walk outside, breathing in the fresh air, the sun shining gloriously on our cheeks... sounds down right romantic, right?

Well, with Kalena on my back and the knowledge that crap was piling up in the barn (quite literally) romance may not have been on our minds.

I will admit, though, that the walk wasn't all bad. :) Kalena enjoyed the ride and I decided that I would allow myself to skip my treadmill run for the day. Mitch and I were even joking around which trust me, is likely an act of God considering all that was going wrong with the day.

I think we talked ourselves into a good attitude. We probably don't go for enough walks together.

Mitch and I tried to remember Valentines Day's past (we've had 13 together) and the ONLY one that we could think of was the year (pre-kids) that we got a jacuzzi suite at the Days Inn in Saskatoon. Other than that, nothing stands out! It could mean that maybe we need to make more of an effort to make Valentines' Day special, or I can't help but reflect on how it really is only one day a year. We have a responsibility to "maintain" our relationships by showing love and affection many more days than that! (Dare I say, EVERY day?)
We have many cherished memories, just not ones that fall on Valentines' Day.

We are thankful for my brother in law and his dad who came out and used our tractor (we're thankful to have tractors, too!) to pull out both trucks while Mitch worked with the service guy to fix the manure scraper cable. The trucks were just fine. (I added that just in case my in-laws read this) ;)

I drove the long way around to pick J up from the birthday party. He was the only boy who attended this party and on our way home, I asked him if he had a good time. "Oh ya!" He said. "I never knew girl parties were so fun!" I asked him what they had done. "Oh, you know. We played tag, decorated picture frames and danced..." - I love my sweet boy.

Mitch was in the barn fixing the alley scraper for most of the day, so the kids' and I played outside for a while and cleared the snow off of our rink. I then worked on strengthening the callous on my nintendo thumb with Jett while Lena and Zav watched Paw Patrol.

Mitch had mentioned earlier in the day how great it would be to get Chinese food for supper. So, we ordered Chinese food for supper, but it was a 1 hour 20 min wait until it was ready and I got stuck behind a train while bringing it home.

At the end of the day, we all ate, the trucks were all safely home, manure was effectively being scraped out of the cows' alley, the kids went to sleep in their warm beds and Mitch and I could watch our current show on Netflix before calling it a night.

Call it a wrap.
Valentines Day 2016.

Seeing as it was a Sunday, we did go to church in the morning, too, and it was the Sunday for the worship team that I'm on to lead in the service. It's my responsibility to choose our song set and set the tone for the morning with scripture that accompanies the songs to help people to focus on Christ.

I love this job.

I love when I sit down to choose songs, and a certain theme naturally flows together. Often, without consulting our Pastor, the set aligns well with the sermon for the morning, and I can only attribute that to God's leading. Love it. (In this season of life with young children, this God time is a life line for me as daily devotions just don't often happen.)

This past Sunday, we sang a few songs thanking God for His love for us. He is love. We can love because He first loved us.

I'll end this Valentines (schmalentines) post by pointing back to the truest love.

1 John 4:7-11(NIV)

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. 

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

This is how God showed his love among us: 

He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through

him.  

This is love: not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us 

and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

Dear friends, since God so loved us, 

we also ought to love one another.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 

While we were still sinners, 

Christ died for us.