Well the weekend has come and gone and with it two VERY warm days. Saturday topped out at over 30 degrees Celsius. Hot enough that the kids didn’t want to play out in the sprinkler and the pool for very long at all! I am definitely going to put a new kiddie pool top of my list for next summer. Our princess pool is great – for Echo and Trinity but just too small for the boys! They did enjoy themselves for the time they were outside. 

Maybe our last bathingsuits in the backyard, what a cute group

Out in the sun WITHOUT a pull up

I snuck Echo outside with her blanket and Petite Sheepette to take pictures in the sunshine. She has been rather fussy this week and we finally figured out why… she has cut two molars! She is such an odd bean… no front tops, she goes for the painful molars. At least we think they are molars, she has a very small palate so it is hard to tell the exact placement. Goes along with the teeny tiny feet, hands, everything, but all well in proportion. I am hoping to get her into her birthday tutu dress and see if we can get some more pictures. But timing and weather have to coincide, and her mood of course. 

Sunshine baby

It was a slow crafting day on Saturday, too much cleaning, too much heat and too many cranky kids… but I did finish the Vivid Squirrel! I tried to finish a sock owl, but made a mistake with the wings… oops. Thankfully I have enough sock pieces left over to wing up the last 3 owls tonight. Then it is time for Dollarama and more socks! 

Vivid Squirrel

Saturday evening we had boardgames with Kristen, Fydo and Sean… Echo has finally warmed up to Fydo and Kristen and has always been in love with Sean! We stayed up late chatting after gaming. It was an absolute blast.

Playing blocks

Gaming!

We managed to get our timing right and Skype with my dad and my sister Kat (you will remember that she is newly married… you can read about the event on the official announcement HERE… her husband left on Monday for Kuwait for 6-9 months!). It was great to hear from both of them though the kids kept it a busy call, making noise, arguing, spilling something… so it was just like dad and Kat were here on a regular day! He looks great and I am told feels a ton better with all that extra oxygenated blood getting where it should at a good pace. 

I had another pattern sale… the D20 again… and this time the buyer linked my site. I figure I should do the same in return. She is a crafty individual and has an Etsy store you should check out! I look forward to seeing what she does with my pattern! It is always exciting to have someone want to purchase one of our patterns and even more so to have them mention you on their blog! I am hoping to get some more patterns up on our site and maybe connect with more people who are interested in them. I would love to know if you downloaded one of our free ones and see what has been done with it! And if you REALLY feel like it, purchase one and do the same – every purchase adds to my eBay Christmas shopping fund!  

Oh and something else that got lost in the hectic life that was last week – I got a package in the mail! A friend was moving and hadn’t been cross stitching anymore so she sent me her stash! There is thread, hoops, even an unfinished project I am going to take up and see if I can complete! What a pick me up for a harsh week! 

A stash!

And then I was able to sell a few baby boy/outgrown boy items on Kijiji AND send a couple large bags of playclothes on their way through Freecycle on the same day! My goal right now is to sell enough BOY stuff that I could buy some new/used GIRL stuff. Once Trinity is out of her size 3’s I have a small pile of hand-me-downs and then I am out of clothing for her. So if anyone is interested in trades, working out a deal and preferably local or at least coming my way… that would be helpful! AND if you have the shopping urge our Miss Trinity loves getting clothes for Christmas and birthdays (seriously no lie, especially if they are Hello Kitty OR pink!). 

Speaking of Trinity – well  we ran out of pull ups yesterday and were not really wanting to use money needed somewhere else to buy more so we crash coursed our potty training. We have done a bit of laundry, cleaned a few floors and are seeing GREAT results. Now going out shopping we would definitely put on the pull up but we had poop in the potty and everything! She was getting a little frantic about wearing the undies and then came out crying that she had pooped, well quick sit on the potty, a slight scrub of the undies and we had a success! So she earned her sport bottle, has not used a pull up all day (well wore one a couple times but didn’t pee in it!) AND is a big girl now!

Successful Potty = Hello Kitty goodies!

Since the boys got Kinder Surprise eggs at Sunday School we had to walk down to the convenience store and get a box for Trinity too… they don’t sell them as singles so we bought a box of 3 – for 4.67! OUCH but it does break down to about the normal price per egg… just OUCH. So she had one as did Mommy and Daddy. Yum! And the toys were all fun. She wore a pull up there as at times the washroom is out of order – they have had some vandals come in and plug the toilet. 

Kinder yum

Our evening wasn’t too busy, I ran out with Karyn (Echo in tow) to get a forgotten grocery and some supper… but I think I am just feeling the stress of the week. I am hoping to start tomorrow with a smile on my face and a heart centred on homeschooling and my children.

Be sure to check out Fat Sheep’s Site… her adventures are ongoing!!!!

Fun in the sun with her sheep

Short update on my dad – they are keeping him in hospital one more day. They are waiting on the second operation to ensure that the artery they dealt with now is working fine. Everything is being dealt with in a timely manner and apparently dad is back to his usual humorous and loving self. My stepmom was sweet enough to send me a picture of him in his hospital bed with a smile on his face and the phone to his ear!

I love listening in on my kids… at naptime Trinity and Emanuel had to go potty… Emanuel wanted the fan on but NOT the light – to save electricipy… and Trinity was sure you can’t pee in the dark. So he explained to her how important it was to NOT turn it on and that he was fine in the dark (with the door open of course!). And it is an added bonus to realize that he actually UNDERSTANDS  that we need to conserve things like energy (do need to work on his pronunciation for electricity though!).

Emanuel gifted me with a rainbow on a rather cloudy day

Some time spent on workbooks and the concentration for schoolwork was out the window. I think starting with a clear and fresh week on Monday will make things much easier. I will have to buckle down and get my research done. I have fallen in love with my tiny wolf in red ridinghood’s hood… he has a tiny banquette and cherry pie in his basket.

Hard at work, and willingly for the most part

Which had me moving right onto my Samurai Cat… I haven’t determined a favourite Feltie yet… and after these still have a few more to go. I either have to buckle down and do some colour changes on two of them or get shopping. I am thinking once I finish one of each I may just start making some to gift away!

...and done!

I finished up a scrapbook page today as well – this was just a put the pictures on a pre done (by me) page… for Emanuel’s book.

Going to the Fort

I have continued my downsizing of the no longer useful and or necessary. One of those was a bit of a twinge to put up on Kijiji – the classic Winnie the Pooh wallpaper border I had bought for Emanuel’s corner of our room. It just never got put up or used in a craft project and with Echo being… well Echo… they just aren’t her. I figured 10.00 for 15 feet worth was a good price and maybe some other baby could enjoy the classic images. I got it from Target of all places!

I have yet to face the mountain of boy clothes I have to sift through to donate, Kijiji, Freecycle or toss… I did creep into the utility room where they are to sort out a bit when I was making room for the connecting up of our internet and phone… there are more containers than I remembered! I know I need to keep any little sweater vests for my cousin Veronika (in case she has a boy someday)… she is quite the fan.

My evening has been spent mainly working on Samurai Cat and the last of my fuzzy sock owls. I actually did a re-do on the cat’s head I was that unimpressed with my first attempt. I am down to the last few, really I am but then comes the fun part – making them for OTHERS … and photographing the ones I have.

A wolf in disguise

We think we may have an idea as to what is wrong with our printer – it MAY be as simple as the toner in the black being about out and just not registering as such. We DO have a spare cartridge so it is not the end of the world. I did manage to get some things printed with a decent quality.
But my day has been quiet and now I need to end the evening the same way. I hope to Skype with dad tomorrow and the kids are clamouring to do some more crafts… Maybe Gavin is ready for another stitch?

Taking the little ones on a walk

What a goof!

Well some VERY good news today – first off – back two entries ago I wrote about my dad – well I talked HIM this morning and he sounds great! He is ready to go home by tomorrow and is aware of the lifestyle changes he needs to take on once he gets there. I was so glad to be able to hear is voice and give him the “Daddies Need to Look After Themselves” lecture. I cannot tell you what a relief it was to actually talk to him… to hear FROM HIM that he was ok. I hope to talk to my whole family down in South Carolina when dad is home safe and sound. Thank you everyone for your positive thoughts, prayers and love! 

The finished cards

With the above message comes the OTHER good news – we are back on the grid! Phone and internet duly connected. If  you NEED our house number please Facebook, Twitter, comment here or email rosereinsch@gmail.com and I will try and get it to you! There was a bit of an issue this morning as when they made our appointment for hook up they did not make it all the way! So Ken had to go and call (on the cell phone OUCH) and sit on hold and bark them out… thankfully he got results and potentially some cash off for the first month as that certainly cost us a bit on our cell phone. Hold for 2 min meant hold for 24!! Can you imagine how NOT happy Ken was?  With the usual “Ken is involved so there is a fuss” fuss we are now hooked back up… oh the nirvana of being able to check my email, go on Facebook, etc etc all from home again.

And the family is settling back down to where we should be… Math was done this afternoon with two VERY focused little boys!  Our morning PRE internet and phone was spent in a dance frenzy… one of the toys that plays songs on one of its settings was found during my silent home cleaning and was put to GREAT use… I love the action pictures! There was dancing solo, group dancing, bums wiggling, arms flailing… it was FUN! 

Dancing

With spinning

In the afternoon the kids went out and made what they were calling a ladybug world. Apparently they are out full force and the kids are not the least bit scared of them. I did have to call Zander in after he once again talked to our neighbour in the next building over. It is a combination of him almost harassing the poor neighbour every time he steps out of his door AND Zander so willingly chatting away with any stranger he meets. Although it may not help that the man has an uncanny resemblance to my dad! I am trying to work with him on focus and concentration… he chatters so that he gets tuned out in the end and as an outlet will talk to ANYONE. So we are working on saving things up and waiting til there is moment to chat and THEN talking. It will take time we just need to be as patient as possible and explain to him until he understands the dangers of talking to strangers.

So many ladybugs

Gavin worked really hard today sitting side by side with yours truly while we worked on our craft projects – me cutting out the needed parts for 3 Felties and him on his cross stitch. He finished it! Zander worked on his as well but is not there yet… I am a VERY proud Mommy. After all they are BOTH interested in a craft that is near and dear to me.

All done!

Now that we have our internet back Ken is back to working at home which is a relief to the entire family. Trinity quite seriously told me that she didn’t like Daddy leaving to work as she missed him. We are a family that works best together, though we CAN handle being separated. I think that is one of the reasons that homeschooling works so well for us, we all love to learn together!

Tomorrow should be another busy day. We have to start calling all the places that need our new phone number, I am determined to get more tidying done… start the boys back with a more regimented schedule AND start back on my research. We have possums to look into after all. I hope to have some more Feltie pictures to share this weekend… I have finished a nice selection and hope to take some fun photos if I can find a spare moment and a good patch of sun.

Enjoying the music