The snow is melting finally though the day has been overcast… wow is it sad when more than one blog entry in a small period of time starts with discussing the WEATHER… are we into the awkward small talk phase already? I think it is more that boredom has set in with yours truly… I need some sunshine and warm weather to take my family out in and I need it NOW!

We finished our Bad Kitty book and started Farmer Boy. We read the first chapter, discussed the names of characters mentioned, drew an illustration and wrote a small summary and of course copied some letters. I am hoping that we can get Chris and Chris’ printer to work tonight so that I can print off some stuff I found online but Ken has to have spare time first. He took some gaming time this weekend to lower his stress levels and now has to work harder the first half of the week to balance that out. 

There are lots of chapters to read and I am sure we can find some fun ways to learn more about the book itself. We went to the Little House on the Prairie museum in Minnesota before heading home to Canada when Trinity was a wee thing. There are quite a few mini museums connected to the book series in the states (at locations mentioned), maybe when we go down to see Ken’s family we could check another one out! 

Boys at work... I know Ken is looking forward to having his own work space again

I lucked out on Freecycle and am having Karyn coordinate picking up some computer games for the kids… educational and all! Apparently some people wanted ALL that the woman listed but since I was homeschooling she let me pick and choose! She wanted them to go to some family that would actually use them! Well… WE WILL! It is special things like that that make me feel all the more better about life on a rough day/week/month. 

Trinity’s birthday is right around the corner (26th) and with us… displaced… we are planning to have her PARTY in May, BUT that does not change the date of her birth one bit. So the plan is to make some time one evening this week and Karyn and I go and get her something special. Nothing fancy as I still plan on making her a bigger gift for her party but something to open on HER day. 

So while we have not moved mountains life keeps going. We will not be in a holding pattern forever and I am doing my best to realize that on a deeper level… positive thinking right?

Storytime

Definitely did NOT start the day off in an auspicious manner. I was up late last night so Ken could get in a nap and work in the wee hours to meet some deadlines… so I woke up off and tired only to go upstairs and find that all the time I had spent cleaning was undone. The kids were VERY industrious. And then in passing I peeped in my purse to find that 20.00 had gone missing! Well by that point I was in tears… Thankfully Echo needed a nap so with the new Blue’s Clues thanks to Freecycle I hid in the bathtub for a nice long pity party with a (what turned out to be surprisingly) good book. So not the best morning full of schooling though they did enjoy solving the mysteries with Blue with their little siblings. 

Emanuel has started working with a different way of creating art… basically he has stumbled upon a very basic form of pointillism. He was so proud of his first picture and then today decided that was how he wanted to colour a dragon! He is very patient though was thoroughly unimpressed with my notion that he NOT use markers (with Echo playing at the table NOT a good idea) and was rather pouty about the crayons I gave him instead.

First piece

Dragon

The boys did math in their room over quiet time (aka when mommy got the livingroom cleaned and DIDN’T find her missing 20.00) as well as a word search (Chinese New Year themed). I have a collection though small of Chinese New Year worksheets I have found at Education.com. You can find my list HERE. As always check out EnchantedLearning and our favourite – Activity Village. Both links are on my side bar!

At work

Tomorrow is THE day… well not THE day but an important day… Ken, Echo and myself are heading to the city to do her 6 month cardiology appointment. I am not sure what all that will encompass (I think they play it a bit by ear due to what they find as you go along) but we are quite aware we most likely will be there for the whole afternoon. Tests and seeing the cardiologist is NEVER quick. It is a little nerve wracking for a few reasons – first off… testing… second… results… and then there is the travelling in winter… and leaving the other 4 at home (thankfully!!)… oh and the whole I am not happy she has to go through ANY of this! I mean I KNOW it is for the best but my baby is my baby. So please keep our wee Echo in  your thoughts and prayers… we need safe travel and a productive day at the children’s hospital.

I am still hard at work on the afghan. I plan on taking a couple novels and said afghan and that is it to entertain myself while we are at the hospital. I figure that way I have no excuse. I don’t know how successful I will be with Echo’s rather attention grabbing technique – she has taken to grabbing the afghan and trying to throw it on the floor to make room on my lap! She is a very insistent young lady! 

I have to admit getting through tomorrow will be a weight off my mind. AND a day away from the bulk of the kids, even with the circumstances will be nice. We hope to meet up with Sean and Ted before heading back. Cousin Veronika and Victoria have been sweet enough to agree to babysit so there is no worries about what will be going on at home. I have my cell phone and my iTouch charging and a couch full of items to go with us (lots of just in case things). I am not sure when we will get home but I hope to get a post up tomorrow night with whatever results we get or early Friday sometime. We shall see how it all plays out!

Our little darling

And the weekend comes and goes and the time got away from me! So… 3 day post! Enjoy! Let’s see… Saturday… well, surprisingly the kids played nice and Echo took and early nap in the morning (which kicked me into Emanuel’s room) and Ken and I both got to sleeping. Ken did have to make breaky and do baby duty for a bit but we got sleep!!! Did it ever feel nice! 

All dolled up

Our afternoon was when the real fun (for the adults) started – Karyn came over and she and I ran out on errands. After all, Saturday night was nacho potluck and gaming night! I lucked out watching Freecycle and was able to go out and grab some children’s dvd’s. Freecycle is a definite godsend! We got everything from Bob the Builder to Thumbelina and more. Included is a dvd on astronauts! Timely huh? 

Movies!

We played Arkham Horror Saturday night… it is a loooong game and lots of fun! And Kristen brought desert… VERY yummy!!

Camera Thief

Gaming

Desert

Our Sunday was a little out of the ordinary too… no Sunday School and with Gavin’s tooth being VERY stubborn we opted to stay home and wiggle. (still no luck but in the past two days VERY loose… just equally as stubborn!). So it was laze around and enjoy the family day… and mid way through that – a visit from Grandma and Grandpa! Presents too! Oh and Grandpa Mike tried to pull the tooth to no avail as well… wiggles yes, out NO. 

Along with the grandparents came some pretty dresses, socks, etc. AND another storage unit!! YAY! So we have TWO now that match and I am already filling the new one up. Organization makes Lisa HAPPY! The twins are to take a look at their room and little sets, kits, etc that have been making their home in their room at to migrate to the drawers. I am hoping we can cut down on the clutter. They have a small room and need all the space they can get. 

Storage

Grandpa Mike even spent some time teaching the twins how to play chess! There are so many rules that I am sure there will have to be quite a few sessions. I personally am not sure of all the rules but I bet by the end of the year I will have to learn them! 

Chess

Today marks back to school for a lot of children. We have been going pretty steady over Christmas but now I am trying to get us really busy and focused. Since Chinese New Year is in January it is time for us to start our colouring and worksheet fun. There is a poster to create! I would suggest, if you are interested in learning about Chinese New Year, that you go to EnchantedLearning. They have a nice selection of worksheets… 

Workbook time

I am very proud of Zander today. Once he got over his “I don’t wannas” he spent an hour or more teaching Trinity different games… everything from tic tac toe to boardgames to memory. Very patient and not too competitive. 

Memory

At the same time the other two were hard at work with their blocks creating different cities and races. It is so lovely when they pair off and get along so well!

In Emanuel's room

Ken was a busy man today so a lot of stuff he was hoping to do for the family got postponed. I am so proud of how hard he works for us. Tomorrow morning he has errands to run and then Wednesday we lose the whole day to the city. Thankfully he can do work that does not depend on internet connection while we are at the hospital. 

Out in the snow now ice

So with math and reading and colouring and playing and time outside… well the day went by quite quickly! I wish I could say ALL the laundry is done and put away and the rooms cleaned BUT some progress has been made! 

Post bath curls