September RoundUp

Well this month was a challenge for all of us.  I had two weeks this month where I worked more then full time, which is hard for me because I usually only work part time.  But I agree to extra shifts and some extra duties so 2 of the 4 weeks of September were totally out of balance.


The other really hard part of this month has been school for Lucas.  He is having a really hard time adjusting to grade one as well as all of changes that came with grade one.  He went from half a day, English, catholic walk to school, school and now it's full days, french immersion, public and on bus.   Like I said it has been a really hard month with all the changes.  I posted already that I knew it was going to a challenge, but there have been many tears shed by both myself and Lucas this month.  I think the hardest part for him is how long the days are.    The first day of school when he saw me, he burst into tears.  I hugged him and he said to me "It's no fair mom that we got to spend the whole summer together and now I have to be apart from you for so long."  It made me start to cry too and say " I agree Lucas it's no fair".  But he also has trouble with the french and not having any good friends with him.   I asked him after the first week how it was compared to kindergarten.  He said "It's so different mom.  The teacher doesn't even speak english."  It's been quite hard on me too because I could fix it in a moment for him.  I could switch him back to the school that he was in last year, but in my head I know that is not the right thing for Lucas or for all of us.   But to hear him cry or be so anxious that he can't get his work done, or that he gets stomach aches or doesn't want to go to school, it all just breaks my heart.   When I talk to people though who know Lucas and know the situation they all agree that french immersion is a really good idea for him, so I don't want to just fix it for him, but I want to teach him how to cope and deal with the situations presented to him.   We did meet with his teacher and she gave him and us some suggestions.  On the good side it is AMAZING to me how much he already knows.  And his pronunciation is so good, I'm so proud of him.  And I'm loving that we are all speaking french more to help him.  It's good for all of us (even Spanish speaking Nathan).    But if anyone has any other suggestions on how to help kids deal with anxiety, I'd love to hear them.


On the good side the weather has been so great.   Most of the month the weather has been between 15 and 25.  Which means lots of outdoor time.  Here is one night when Pop was out playing soccer with the kids. 



Today we headed to the mountains to enjoy the one (maybe two) weekends of fall we have here in Calgary. I do miss the beautiful fall that they have in Ontario. But before the snow and cold comes here we were outside enjoying it. Lucas did a fantastic job and hiked 8km all by himself.  Emma was so happy too.  I don't think we will need to give her the pills tomorrow as she will be so tired.  

The boys have been continuing to get along really well.  Now that Lucas is back in school and they are not together so so much when they do play together they usually have lots of fun.   The new thing that they have both become crazy about is Phineus and Ferb.  Which is a Disney TV show about two brothers.  Darryl even enjoys it too.

It was also my birthday!!  Oma and Opa came down and Mom and Tammy and Darryl made me a fantastic dinner.  I also went and got my hair done and straightened. 

Till Next Time Jenn