Briton the Russian Woodcutter

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Kid's Talents

It is always exciting to find when your child has special talents. Last year, when Briton was four, we discovered that he was extraordinarlily fast in building a tangram puzzle. No more than 27 seconds! Over and over again! Different shapes each time. He was as quick as his 17 year old brother, who has excellent hand/eye coordination.

27 Seconds to Complete

The next thing we noticed was that he would do puzzles backwards. He could take a puzzle that came in a frame, dump it on the floor and then build it upside down, no picture, based on the shapes of the pieces. These were not small pieces. One of them has about 100 pieces and the pieces are tiny, odd shaped pieces and they create a map of Europe.

Othertimes he has taken a puzzle without a picture and quite comfortably built it without any picture guide.

In October, we had a girl from Switzerland visiting us. She was playing the Labyrinth game with Cooper. It is a game that makes me think of chess. You have to know where your move will take you before you even get there. It is for ages 7 - 99. It is a great game and takes about 30-45 minutes for a game.

I thought that perhaps Briton could be her partner. I came back a little later and Brigitte told me that Briton didn't need a partner. He was doing just fine. He actually won one of the two games! That was just the beginning. It is now his favourite game and he is a fair opponent for anyone who plays against him.

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Mr. Independence

One day when after I had taught Briton, he went off to play. Shortly after, I heard some rattling and it didn't seem to stop. Finally, I walked into the kitchen to check out what on earth was going on. This is what I saw...

 Briton told me he was cleaning out the drawer. Without even planning it he had created for himself a homeschool activity: sorting and classification!

 He then proceeded to clean out the drawer!

 I wish you could have heard the sounds I was hearing as I went and sat back at the kitchen table. Try taking all your tupperware out of your drawers or cupboards in the kitchen and rattle them around, as you throw them out onto the floor. Constantly. Well, that is the sound I was hearing. Once again, I peep into the kitchen to see what he is doing now... lol

Washing Out His Cloth

Next Chore

One last job. So funny. I had to have Austin sort the pantry after Briton had done his 'cleaning'. *grin* He had so much fun being Mr. Independent!

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Pianos, Boxes, and Little Boys

When Colt and Dane were little we lived out in the wilderness. We were forty minutes from town and there were no piano teachers near us. Besides, we had no money and there was no hope of having lessons, even if a teacher was available.

My sister was an amazing musician and I remember the sound of music in the house. I always wanted the same for my home, but it didn't seem to be going to be possible.

Then about five years ago, we found a teacher in town and we managed to coordinate the lessons with shopping trips. It worked out. Colt was now 'too old' at 15, but Dane at 13, and Cassidy at 9, were perfect. We did it for about about six months, and then for some reason it stopped. Can't remember what happened. Perhaps it was when we were moving and building. Could have been about money.

Anyhow...

I still really wanted my kids to learn an instrument, and I knew the piano was the best place to start. Last year, when the girls were home, and I had school money to spend I looked into lessons. But it was too difficult. I had heard that the piano teacher I was interested in did home lessons if there were four students. I figured that would work. Turns out she changed and no longer does that. I put it on hold again. I couldn't see myself fitting six children into a music waiting room and sitting there for two hours.

Then this year, I reapproached the same woman and asked her again about lessons. The break finally came. She offered me four half-hour lessons for a total of $40. Not only that, my children were now old enough that I could take them, some schoolbooks, and set them up in the piano room for two hours.

The child that needs the most attention stays for a lesson, and then I leave and go shopping with said child, plus Savannah and Briton. The other three stay behind for another 1.5 hours. One child plays, while the other two sit quietly with schoolbooks. They each have a predetermined seat, and an order in which they play. This way there is no confusion, and they are wonderful children. They sit quietly, do their schoolwork and wait for their lessons. They are loving the lessons and it is beautiful to hear the tinkle of music in the house again!

It was such an exciting day when the piano we ordered arrived!

Here is Our Piano Arriving!

Cassidy and I Building the Piano

Completed Piano

Once the piano was built the little boys asked if they could have the box. For sure! I know how wonderful a box can be. There are so many things to build with a cardboard box! So off they went, struggling and straining to carry that huge box up the stairs.

They Had a Plan...

They Built a Dog House.

 And of course, the two little 'dogs' had to sleep in their dog house that night! *smile*
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Briton's Date

There was one week this summer when Raine and Savannah went to Ballet Camp, and Cooper and Austin went to an Entomology Camp.

Regarding the Bug Class: I thought it was a nature class that was to appreciate bugs. I figured they would be watching butterflies and maybe catching them, sketching them and letting them go. Not so. It turned out they were impaling them on a board!


The girls, Briton, and I, were not sure what to think. Actually, the children were plain horrified. I, on the other hand, was not sure if this was a valuable lesson, or just plain horrible. Still thinking about it.

Normally, my way of observing nature is to catch it or watch it and then sketch it using the creature and or nature books, and then let it go. So I am not sure about bugs stuck to boards.

So, while the children were doing their classes this week, I decided that Briton and I should have a date. I took him to Tim Horton's for coffee. The deal was that he would eat his oatmeal in the morning without dragging it out forever. He has a problem with that... The first two days he didn't make it. The next three days were wonderful.

We walked into Tim Horton's and I ordered our drinks: hot chocolate for him and a decaf-mocha, heavy on the hot chocolate for me. I then explained to the lady that we were on a date, and he had to pick his donut. She smiled, as did all the people that waited patiently in line as he took his time making his most important decision!


He surely enjoyed his treat!

Briton was so meticulous cleaning up after his treat. When he had finished his donut, before he used his napkin, his whole hand disappeared into his mouth as he made sure that not one drop of that sticky sweetness was wasted! *grin*

The next day he decided he was going to order the creamy cinnamon bun that I had tasted the day before.



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Briton Rides a Bike

Last summer, I introduced Savannah to a bicycle. Within a half-hour she was riding that bike like a pro! Her sister did the same thing. It was so amazing! Cooper was our youngest rider with being comfortable on a bike at age 4.

Briton is so small and he just didn't have the coordination figured out to ride a bike, so he still wasn't riding one. When I picked up the dirt bike I asked one of the guys if he needed to be able to ride a two-wheeler first. He said he did.

So I came home and Briton before he could ride the dirt bike he had to learn to ride a two wheeler. Well, pretty much like his sisters he took off. He was nearly ready. He still needs a start, since he hasn't figured out how to get the bike going, but once he is going he isn't bad at keeping it going. And if he can't keep it going the fence is good for catching him! lol

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Dirt Bikes and Boys or Maybe Girls?

When Ray and I made the decision to buy land it was with the upfront agreement that we would buy toys for the land. We had lived in the country for the last eleven years and our older boys had not benefited it when it came to dirt bikes, snowmobiles or playing on ATVs.

To me, that was a huge part of us moving back to the country. So we made a deal. We hit the jackpot at Christmas time when we scooped two near new snowmobiles for a rock bottom price. Sadly, we did not have any snow to speak of this year, so snowmobiling was out, while skiing up in the mountains was in. Hopefully next year, when we are on our land, we will have snow!

When I drove to visit our son a while ago, I came across these dirtbikes. I called Ray and asked him if I could buy one or two while I was passing through. We had heard and seen for ourselves that second hand bikes didn't come available that readily. So I didn't want to miss a deal.

At the time, Ray didn't want to do anything about it. He was too busy to investigate bikes and so I came home. About a week later, I asked Ray again about it and began doing my own research. Well, I tell you, I can't believe what I know about dirt bikes now! lol

Ray and I settled on what kind of bikes to get and I began to search the net for them. I found four in the same town, including two at the original guy's house. I headed out there one day with my wonderful van and six children. He was a very nice man who offered to teach the children how to ride the bikes, since we had no clue what we were doing.

After he ran all over the field with Austin and then Cooper, I compassionately told him that he really didn't need to teach the younger ones.

"No," he kindly insisted, "I'll teach them."

Okay... (grin)

Savannah was okay. She was actually able to understand how to use the gas and managed to keep it upright by herself. Briton, on the other hand, was seriously, not ready. As the man is telling Briton all about 'centrifical' something or other, Briton is grinning like a Cheshire cat and telling the man something about the nice steering wheel... lol

I quietly explained that Briton had no clue what he was being told, so if we just told him: Gas On, Gas Off, and Brake - that should be good. So off he took him.

Briton Grinning So Big - I'm a Big Boy Now!

That poor man!

As he came flying by me with his hands on the handlebar, I could hear him saying, "GAS OFF! GAS OFF! GAS OFF!" roflol

Riding Like a Speedster

(look at our kind instructor trying desperately to hang onto the bike!)

And he never complained once. He did tell me that Briton was probably 18 months away from riding a CRF 50 Honda, and Savannah 6 months. lol

Austin and Cooper did fabulous! We ended up buying Briton and Savannah a PW 50 Yamaha. This little bike is much easier. They simply have to Gas Off and put their feet down. The bike will slow down. No brakes necessary (at first). Later on, we can teach them how to use the brakes and how to keep their feet up while slowing down.
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Briton's Peanut Challenge

When Briton was 15 months old he had two incidents where he had what appeared to be an allergic reaction to peanut butter. Because of this we have been very cautious and had none in the house for the last four years. Much to the dismay of the rest of the children.

About a year ago, he had a blood test done that would show if he showed up something in his blood that made him seem susceptible to peanuts. The test came back negative, but we were still vigilant because I knew he had had a reaction to something when he was a baby, and it was when he had had peanut butter cookies and on toast.

The doctor's office said they would set up an appointment in Children's Hospital to give him a 'Peanut Challenge'. It took a further 15 months to get this appointment set up.

So at the end of March we headed to the Big City with Briton and his jar of peanut butter.


Everyone at home waited with baited breath to see if they would finally be able to have peanut butter in the house again. I was pretty certain all would be well, and I was preparing in my mind to put on a Peanut Butter Party: peanut butter cookies, peanut butter sandwiches - anything peanut!

Doing Schoolwork in the Waiting Room

Checking His Vitals

The deal was that we were to bring in all the things necessary to challenge him with peanut butter: crackers, peanut butter, jam, and a Reeces Pieces Peanut Butter Cup. I thought that was part of the challenge, but apparently the chocolate bar was for if he passed the challenge! Too late. He had already seen the chocolate bar and been told he would be eating it later. Oh boy!

Briton was weighed, measured, checked all his vitals and signed in. He was up for this appointment and having lots of fun. Then the doctor came in and explained the procedure: they would start with a smear of peanut butter on a spoon, wait fifteen minutes for a reaction (or not), and then proceed with a larger dose - this time double the previous dose.


The amounts would be carefully weighed and fed to him by the nurse. Briton thought this was great fun. He had his picnic all laid out! smile

During the course of the challenge another nurse came by to do a full nut allergy test on Briton. He was a bit distressed as each time she pricked him it felt like a bee sting. You can see his little face all upset, as she did the last of the pokes. Thankfully, those all came up negative, so he will be able to have all nuts, except maybe peanut butter.

I had to hold his hands because he was so upset that he wanted to stop the pokies.


While the challenge was going on, a clown came to visit the children in the waiting room. He was absolutely delightful! What a wonderful job for someone: to be able to make children that are sick, laugh! Here he is tying Cooper's shoes (together) because they were untied. He was a natural that had the children in stitches!

After the first dose of the challenge we watched Briton to see if there would be a reaction. Almost immediately his ears turned red and he complained that his mouth was bothering him. I shook my head in absolute disbelief! A couple years ago, someone had been babysitting Briton and he had gotten into some Moose Trails icecream. This icecream, for grownups treat, is vanilla with streaks of chocolate, plus tiny reeces pieces peanut butter cups in it. It is kept in the freezer (obviously) and Briton never sees it. Or so I thought! Well, obviously, he had seen it.

The babysitter had come around the corner in the livingroom and found the tub of icecream, with a spoon in it, and no culprit in sight. That little stinker had found the icecream, taken it for a snack where he figured he was safe from detection, had his fill, and then left the evidence and gone to play.

But there was no physical reaction. Nothing. I had come home from my time away, heard the story, and was so thankful that he was okay! ! The previous times he had encountered peanut butter he had reacted more strongly each time. So why didn't he react the day he had the icecream? I don't know, but I think God protected him.

Shortly after his ears reddened they settled down, and he carried on playing. The nurse gave him his second larger dose, and then we settled in to keep an eye on him. He didn't complain other than to say his mouth bothered him on the roof of it.

Every fifteen minutes the nurse would come back and feed him another cracker with a larger portion of peanut butter, wait out the fifteen minutes, and then record her observations. Nothing was happening. I was getting excited! We were nearly at the end of the trial and it was looking positive. The nurse said that it was possible that the initial reaction was due to his body being shocked at the new taste.

After about the fifth dose - 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter - he said he had to go to the bathroom... NOW! I didn't think anything of it.

A little while later, he began sneezing....

And Sneezing....

And Sneezing!

This kept up for another 30 minutes or so. When the nurse came back I informed her of the sneezing. She checked with the doctor, and then came back to inform me that sadly, Briton had FAILED the test.

I was SO disappointed! I thought he had got so far, he had to be about to pass, and then boom! It was over. Poor little guy. Poor big brothers. Poor Mum. No easy lunches, no cookies, no peanut butter cups at the end of the four hour test.

He was such a little trooper, and didn't complain when I told him he had not passed the test, and therefore could not eat the chocolate bars. But, he looked up at me with those big brown eyes opened wide when I told him this, and so I couldn't help but tell him I would get him a treat that wasn't peanuts on the way home. His face broke into a delighted grin.

Working Hard at School Work

One good thing came from the day. Austin had enough time to work really hard on his language arts book and finish it for the year. He happily threw it in the garbage can on his way out!


I did decide to figure out a system for Briton and everyone else. I will allow peanut butter into the house in a controlled way. Every few months I will buy a jar and they will eat it on bread on throw away plates, using throw away knives. Briton will have almond butter. But there will be no peanut butter cookies, because apparently cooking the dough releases peanut protein into the air, where it can be ingested. So sad.

Austin Enjoying a Forbidden Food:
Peanut Butter Sandwiches - Outside away from Briton

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