Yates-Laberge Family Site

This entire week has been  a long and much needed exhale…things have gone smoothly…the kids have been CALM….and nothing major has caused more than a few minutes of chaos in our house. I feel like we have been waiting for this week since we got here. …and..my GOD!!! IT FELT GOOD!

Lessons learned this  week…

1. Don’t DON’T DON’T go and ask your child’s teacher how they behaved EVERY DAY!! It causes TOO MUCH STRESS!!!  Why didn’t ANYONE tell me???!!! I have talked to Andrew’s teachers EVERY SINGLE day since preschool!!! Most parents just smile and wave…I check in….and USUALLY are told of one thing or another that he did ….so, inevitably it starts our afternoon off with a negative note!! I am not uninterested..but, I guess I finally “get” that I don’t need to know EVERYTHING about EVERY minute of his day….WHY DID IT TAKE ME THIS LONG TO GET THIS?????

2. I am in LOVE with our Wii and big brain academy was MADE for Claire and I !!!! We love it, we love competing, and I think “playing” with your partner is one of the healthiest things that can happen in a relationship! Some how, some way….the Wii is helping …..odd huh…

3. Hearing my son compliment me in another room…when he thinks I am not around….is heart warming, brings tears to my eyes….and simply renews my spirit in motherhood. After eating yummy cookies yesterday that Karen brought over, I thought I would give my hand at some…I got frozen, already shaped, as pre-done-as-possible cookies and put them on a cookie sheet today They were warm when the boys arrived home from school. Mind you, they were ALL STUCK TOGETHER in a Tupperware container….but, nonetheless,….warm THEY WERE DELIGHTED with my effort…. Tonight when Claire went in to check on the boys and cover them up before we went to bed, Andrew woke up a little…..and mentioned what an amazing “cook” I was…and that my cookies were the best he had ever tasted!! ohhh….if he only knew…..but, my goodness….it felt SO SO GOOD

4. I was 100% correct about our nutty schedule. It was WAAAYYY too much. Setting limits was the RIGHT thing to do and having dinner as a family for 3 nights in a row was the NECESSARY thing to do. EVERYONE needs balance….EXPECIALLY US!

5. Karen is a heck of a playdough maker and ROCKS for making some for Adam. He is SO IN LOVE with molding this soft home-made concoction into a plethora of snakes, people, and a billion other shapes!

6. I really don’t like  a week full of rain….I love the sun too much.

7. The airline price hike has freaked us out a bit…..and the thought of paying 3,000 to fly home is nauseating.

8. I may have to get braces to stretch out my mouth due to grinding my teeth so hard for so many years….I just think it is ODD…100% ODD!!

9.  I have lost 35 lbs since moving to Calgary and it feels DAMN GOOD! I am going to celebrate with a few new clothes this weekend

10. Google calendar is even BETTER now that I can view it on my phone internet service! Google calendar keeps our lives COMPLETELY ORGANIZED!!!!!!!!

I am off to sleep and wish for some word from some of you. I am missing my friends and wanting to connect this weekend.

Anne

I have been following the FLDS case pretty closely. I think that the men should be taken away….and dealt with…..my opinion…but, WHAT THE HELL IS TEXAS DOING???

Let’s just say by CHANCE…there was family that was Catholic and they got a call from a 16 year old girl that said she was being abused by her father and other MEN….the state would go in and take the MEN out of the house, issue a restraining order of some sort……and PROTECT the children and mother.

I realize that this IS different and there is some MAJOR responsibility that the mother has to talk in all of this, but from ALL reports, the mothers have not physically abused the children sexually…. The neglect of not reporting the abuse is not excusable and there needs to be SOMETHING that happens….but, I have a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR problem with these children being taken out of their homes….and FURTHERMORE…

THERE IS NO REASON TO TAKE BABIES AWAY FROM THEIR MOTHERS IF THE MEN WHO ARE ABUSING THEM ARE NOT IN THE PICTURE!!

I realize that everyone is not going to agree with me.  BUT MY GOD!!! I just read that a woman who was nursing a 13 month old was separated from her baby. 13 months old! The state of Texas decided that 12 months is that is acceptable for nursing to cease! These people are VERY different from us. They nurse 3-4 times longer due to cultural and economic reasons! MY GOD! There are 61 babies under 3 years old now abruptly taken from their mother’s breasts.

I feel so strongly about this ….primarily because of baby Rowen. I knew about Emily being pregnant before she was even showing…and waited each day for his birth.  Then saw him grow and grow and grow….as a happy and perfect little person….with only one thing for food….Emily’s breast milk. These children are surviving because of their mother’s milk….and now they are going to place them in a different environment, stress their bodies and hearts to great lengths…..and now…..they are going to lose important body weight/mass due to the state of Texas’ inability to see the OBVIOUS needs of the children because of bureaucracy.

This is my opinion…..I just can’t stand that babies are being ripped from their mothers’ arms. I don’t know that I have the solution for this ENORMOUS problem. I pray for those TRYING to make such difficult decisions….and I pray that SOMEONE  realizes that a 13 month old baby is 100% too young to abruptly stop breast feeding.

Where do you guys stand on all of this?  Tell me…..even if you completely disagree…..tell me.

How can this crap happen in our world?? HOW?

Anne

I think I am FINALLY on a good sleeping schedule! FINALLY.

I have been on my own HORRIBLE pattern for YEARS and the move/time change has given me a little help. I am FINALLY going to bed at 10-11 and waking up naturally at 7 or so. It is SO much better to be in sync with the rest of my little family. Sleep is SO important to my little world….and I did not realize it. Yesterday I got ALL of our laundry done, took Adam to the library, found my hiding electronics, did a TINY bit of retail therapy,….does not sound like much …but, for me………the laundry would have been ENOUGH.

I am dehydrated. The air here is VERY VERY dry and I NEVER drink enough water. I woke up around 3am with a HUGE HUGE headache in the BACK of my head…. 100% NOT stress…..100% dehydration. We were warned by a BILLION people….but, I just simply FORGET! We have decided to get a water bubbler thingy….for our house. Just to remind us all….including the kids. Claire is the best at it…she drinks a ton of water at work.

The sun is out until almost 9pm here. It is sort of freaky. During the summer it will be out even longer. The boys used to go to bed at 7pm…now with FULL sun at 7pm…they have sort of revolted! They are now around 8:00-8:30…which seems REALLY REALLY late for me….but, more realistic with the sun schedule. Their behavior is ok with the change, so I think it will probably be ok. Adam needs a nap here and there, but, not every day.

Guess what we get today??? CABLE TELEVISION!!!!!!!! We have been without TELEVISION for almost 2 weeks. I seriously DO NOT MISS IT…not even a LITTLE bit. The boys don’t even NOTICE. Claire on the other hand……….is a TV addict. I love the news…..but, can get it online.

I have a few movies that I did not publish because of my horrible laptop situation in the temp housing. I will put them online later today. They will seem like “oldies”…but, in reality they are only a few weeks old ! Funny how important timing is with media!

A morning blog is something different for me….but, I like it.

Have a super day every one!!!

Anne