December 5-6

Middle of the week comes and goes and with it another busy busy day! Poor Baba is feeling under the weather but yours truly feels more the norm. I have to admit, having SOMETHING to do (aka attempt, however impossibly to find my immunization records.. yah right) and the knowledge that Ken IS talking to people and making progress just soothes the soul. It is something I have been working on and fighting with… I just do not handle massive anxiety well, though once the issue has passed or we gain control I am able to smooth right out. Certainly NOT helpful.

We have continued our making of cards, colouring of pictures and working on word searches – all Christmas themed! Trinity has fallen in love with colouring CANDY CANES! Thankfully no one else is complaining.

Today’s big family together time was baking cookies. Nana had picked up sugar cookie dough so while she was out with the weekly time with the cousins and Baba in bed we baked. Again all 5 together elbow deep in dough and flour. So much fun! Though they are definitely not our usual sugar cookie. Ken and I are a bit picky about our cookies after all and love the recipe I got from my mom. BUT everyone else loved them!

With Daddy

Echo at work

Busy bees

Can you tell which is Echo’s masterpiece?

We are hard at work on the first of our Christmas Carols for our mini concert we plan to post on youTube… Away in a Manger. It started out as just the twins and now the younger ones are trickling in to learn too. I wish we had found a Sunday School and the chance to really make it to church regularly but I think that this is our second choice. I am proud of their wish to share these moments with you all… as I was told VERY clearly we HAVE to post this, after all did you know that GRANDMA wants to hear them sing too?? (yup mom they said that SERIOUSLY)

We also did our “Things I Like About Christmas” print out, we did this one last year as well. You can find it on Activity Village. I have printed off extras so that we can continue to do it each year. I love hearing what is important to them each Christmas!

Last year and this year

Thursday was an even better day, though the twins were a little ill. We did another Candy Cane themed craft and made Candy Cane Hearts!

Yummy hearts

Again thanks to Activity Village. Trinity and I lucked out and found tri-cornered beads, so we took some of our special Christmas coloured pipe cleaners and made special beaded candy canes.  I think that each of the kids has done this craft and I was worried that this year we would not come across the right beads to make one for Trinity. She did rather well with her pattern on the one (only a mistake or two) and her yellow one seems to shine! I was so proud of her!

Stringing beads together

The golden version

We read ANOTHER book… Santa’s Snow Cat… so another journal page. Just a cover style illustration with the title written on the page. I am not making them do much more than enjoy the story and the family time with these Christmas themed books. Don’t forget Santa Bear from a previous day!

Santa’s Snow Cat

Santa Bear

I want to try an idea I saw online next year and wrap up 25 NEW Christmas books and then each day open one with the kids and read it! We also had a MATH day… we went online and hunted around for free Christmas themed workpages and printed off a bunch. A lot of adding and subtracting and recognizing which is which. I am hoping to make January a math month, the past few months we have REALLY been focused on the reading.

Joint creation

We, of course, had to work on ELVES from Art for Kids! Zander added his to his already VERY active Santa! I look forward to saving these instructions for years to come! 

So much fun!

Add to that our daily Advent with videos and colouring pages and the kids are rather happy with the direction our learning has gone. I took a poll and it turns out that the kids prefer next week to be REINDEER themed instead of gingerbread. I have been hunting down Rudolf related pages and whatever I can find for colouring for Trinity. Don’t forget our Christmas themed drawings thanks to Art for Kids!!!

Our little resting copy cats watching Christmas themed tv

Friday did not end with us coming home. For myself, Trinity and Echo there was a girls only weekend with Cousin Veronika to begin. Ken and I decided it was best for Echo to go to Veronika’s where there is more space and a quieter atmosphere while she got back to 100% again. Yours truly was in GREAT need of a break from the stress that has become our end of the month. Of course I will share THAT adventure after I catch this blog up on our medical saga.

I was home a little over an hour, called my mom, started sorting through a few things to continue on for use during the weekend before Veronika made it to our place.  I had prepacked most of what we needed anyway so it was rather easy to gather everything up and head out… with a stroller and playpen of course. 

Our first stop was the grocery store to pick up Echo’s baby aspirin and run through our instructions with the pharmacist. Apparently the way we are using the aspirin is really the only way you use it now a days.  Then it was on to Veronika’s for supper and hanging out. RELAXATION (once we drug all our stuff in) was just what we all needed… time with Trinity, watching Echo get used to walking around again… sitting around NOT worrying… it was so nice! We really didn’t have much planned for the weekend but lots of fun and time without the stresses that are present in my home right now. 

The only plastic cup in the house!

Stretching those legs!

That night Kathy came to visit with a new old boardgame for us to try. She lives 10 min or so from Veronika’s so the drive was very short for her. We hung out and watched the new Muppets movie with Trinity first and then it was time for games and snacks. Good company, positive company was a balm for the soul really. We stayed up late visiting and hanging out after Kathy left. 

I think it was called Fullhouse. It was made in 1979 and was a hotel based game, great fun and not too hard to learn!

Of course that meant ECHO was up SUPER early… and now that she is completely mobile no sleeping on the floor for Mommy. But that was ok, as we made sure to make time for a nap in the afternoon.  Saturday we went out to the grocery store for free cookies from the bakery and a ride in the car shaped shopping cart (oh and groceries). It was so much fun watching the girls turn the little steering wheels and Echo cover herself in cookie. 

The awesome cart

The amazing cookies

The reason for the outfit change (and this was BEFORE she finished the cookie, it got worse!)

The rest of Saturday was relaxing… of course the nap mentioned above, snacking, bad tv… all the wonderful things in life. Lots of girly time!

Wandering pre grocery trip

Learning the iPad from big sister

Post cookie yoga?

Followed by serious colouring with the favourite cousin

And passing out on the couch late at night

Sunday morning we headed over to Kathy’s to visit with her, her brother and her kitties. Well the kitties were a little nervous but we will win them over. I am supposed to pet sit at her house in June so we are visiting when we can to work on getting to know them better. 

More colouring at Kathy's

As an added bonus Trinity got to make cookies with Veronika, the premade dough in a tube kind. We tried no name brand – total yum!

Baking of the cookies

NOMS

The weather went a little icky Sunday with more snow… so we came back to the house and had naps and tv and and and… repeat process.

Baby in the house

Then onto Monday and a slight change in plans – story time at the Indigo Veronika works at. Well we didn’t make it much through story time but Trinity had fun playing with the toys. We decided to shop the next day as the weather was even worse… snow and rain and in the morning fog. Of course a quick stop off at the grocery for cookies first! 

Screw the books... they had TOYS

And trains

But Dinah was more fun!

We spent another quiet evening in the home. Trinity got spoiled with a chocolate cake in a mug. 

Spoiled little girl!

TUESDAY was shopping day… Trinity opted NOT to go to storytime but we wandered enough that when we came around to the bookstore to shop there was CRAFT time! So of course Trinity sat down and partook. It was a Scardey Squirrel themed event (we have some of those books thanks to Karyn) and we even got a poster to take home!  We had lunch in the foodcourt… Trinity had KFC that she shared with Echo and I went for A&W (I do so love their rootbeer). It was fun to just sit and chat and people watch (one of Echo’s favourite activities). Then back to shopping.

Enjoying the mall

Which had some cool decor

With the best of cousins

Stopping only for lunch

We found a cute dolly for Trinity at the Buck or Two for 3.00, I got a pair of pjs on sale for around 5.00. We checked out the Sanrio store that was Hello Kitty heaven but decided against purchasing. Instead we stopped at a Dollarama where we bought some bits and bobs. It was fun to get out and do a little guilt free shopping, though I wish I had been able to find a book or two! 

With dolly - 3.00!

The plan WAS to head home Tuesday night but after calling Ken and finding out that there really was nothing for me to do back home to help with month end’s drama and the calmness that was right where I was… and a cousin willing to drive me home the next day the plan changed to Wednesday. Sometimes the vacation doesn’t have to end… well for one more night at least. 

Darling Dinah

Wednesday actually showed a slight change in pattern – Echo let us sleep in until 8! Veronika was long gone for work for the day so that left us some time to get working on her laundry and boxing up some items (she is moving by the 15th of April). A last half day or so of relaxation and avoidance before returning to the chaos. 

My yellow girls

And a little more iPad

Trinity (and myself really) did NOT want to go home… she was in tears when we pulled up to the house! BUT once she saw Daddy it was a little better. The rest of the evening she had to tell me how much she missed Veronika. (I think she actually missed her more than the iPad!) It was so surreal to walk back into the chaos and noise after so long away. 

Zander had lots his two front (top) teeth while I was gone! (and Echo grew in her bottom left from center tooth!) They had watched a TON of tv, played games with Daddy (Zander asked the tooth fairy for nothing more than more time with Daddy! He wrote her a letter and everything I am told!) and got utterly spoiled. So we all had a bit of fun that week! 

So very glad she is up and walking again!

Late last night I had my very first craft completion with a little help from Ken. Zander is the proud owner of a camo print duct  tape tote bag. (with a cookie dough coloured lining). The only real tricky part was putting the base on which Ken and I worked on together. It DOES take a LARGE amount of duct tape to complete (as you have to make 2 11 by 11 inch duct tape fabric sheets). 

Of course I got my instructions from Ducttapestuff on YouTube. He has some of the most creative ideas and his instructions are generally very clear and concise. This was enough of a success that I will probably make something like it for some of the kids on our Christmas list! Great bag for a trip to the library or maybe to help out carrying groceries! 

Zander's new bag

The boys had a go at a craft set we bought for LAST Christmas… we ended up with two very colourful cookies thanks to Zander. 

cookies

We have started our solar system work as well as math… the boys have been looking through the library book I got them and asking questions. The pj library sessions are on hold for another two weeks to the great distress of the younger Reinsch-Johnsons. Instead there was an after dinner tv session and a promise that once the library started the program up again that we WOULD go!

Solar System colouring

Tonight I continue my crafting with a couple projects. I am feeling rather good about my start to the year. While we have had some landline phone problems (figures), the internet was working today and our cell phone at the ready. It is no huge surprise as last night Ken was working on server issues… technology can be a fickle thing can it not? 

One more creative endeavor to share - Gavin's Lego flowers