Well two days in one this time. Wednesday did not prove to be a get up and go sort of day. The twins and myself all seemed to be slightly under the weather so I had a couple naps, they sneezed their way through the day and the rest of the family sort of bumbled along. Rainy weather certainly assisted in the dark moods. We were unable to get Ken freed up in time to head downtown to check out some hair options for Emanuel and when we called the salon in Walmart they were already booked up, and we found out later, closed on Thursday so Emanuel was a little disappointed. 

We made up for it with workbook stuff, talking about coins with the twins, and of course… some cartoon time. Naps for everyone pretty much in the afternoon (minus Ken) and some more quiet time until Ken could be freed up to leave the house ended our day of non-activity. Then it was a family drive to Walmart to pick up a few items. Mom has all the makings for two matching pillowcase dresses so once she has had a break from sewing (that costume was a one night thing) she and Trinity are going to work together to make some new dresses. 

Creative stacking while counting

After supper it was time for Ken and I to take the girls to Bedtime Story Time at the local library… in their pj’s of course. There was a rather large group and a craft and then cookies AND milk! Echo was babbling away and Trinity, though shy, had fun. We plan on going next week… the week after we will be out of town but at the end of the month the story time group is joining the High Tea party to make fascinators! So I think we shall have to try and make it to that! The girls each have some dresses to choose from and I DO have my Lolita dress I could wear… with Ken as our escort… well it would be an experience and a half. 

Well that was Echo’s first real experience of a story time and it was definitely a success. One of the older girls at the group told Trinity that she had a VERY cute sister. I saw a friend of my mom’s though I did not get a chance to talk to her. The girls fit right in! 

Crafting

Cookies AND milk

Our Thursday was a bit of a crafty day… at least for Gavin, who created rings out of pipecleaners to share with everyone.

Creative boy

The weather was perfect for the twins to head out to the pool and splash around…

Fun in the sun

While Emanuel, Trinity and I took a walk to run a couple errands (Echo napped). 

He loves our smaller group walks

Running

And then ALL of us went to the nearby park to play with the kids there and run around. I mean we DID do school work but what is so much more memorable are the wonderful together moments we had that day… and while I (and Ken) were still rather worn out and frustrated with things… well… we got out, saw some sunshine and let the kids make some new friends…

Time to spin....

Walking

Sliding

Swinging

Getting us home in time for baths and clean up and then… COMPANY! Tammy and her 3 kids came by with a library book about making things with duct tape for me to look through and some time to visit. I was working on my bows sorting so it was fun to have someone else peruse the wares! Echo and little Russell are the best of friends, though he is way bigger than her and she pets him like he is a puppy! 

Post bath play, thus the poofy hair

A good ending to a relatively busy day… and with my next blog entry I will FINALLY share the results and the experience of my very first table with my crafts on it!!! Crazy!!! So check back tomorrow!!!

Quiet time with a book

And not to our benefit. For the first time in a while we had a rainy, overcast day. Not to anyone’s liking, though it did make for one of the more interesting weather pages. The temperature remained relatively warm but no one (dog included) was very inclined to head outside. So instead the twins tackled the giant container of coins that Grandma and Grandpa had been collecting. We worked on coin recognition, discussion of counting and organizing. There was a few US coins in the mix too which added some excitement to the sorting experience. They helped to collect enough change to create most of my float for Saturday as well. There is still more to work on, but we need Grandma to bring home some more papers to wrap them in.

Working together

Trinity got a super special treat today… last night Grandma whipped up (with fabric from the store) a pink version of the Nativity costumes in the smallest size she had! Talk about pretty in pink! 

So pretty

Side view

So of course Echo had to  get in on the fashion show as well!

So pleased with herself

Bitty Baby

We had a late nap for each of the girls to bring them back to cheerful and after Grandma got home and supper was said and done the boys all played Skip-Bowith her. 

Gaming with Grandma

Tomorrow we plan on heading out to get Emanuel’s hair cut and to the library for pj storytime. The search is still on full force for our ending of move miracle. We are working on making our time here as full and memorable as possible… once the rain stops we still have to map the neighbourhood, visit downtown and go to where Grandpa Mike works, which is coincidentally where Ken and I graduated university. There is also a viking ship at the information center that could use a closer examination! Anyway… another late night and still more to do with the craft sale prep. Remember go HERE for the info!

I seriously cannot get over how grown up she looks

Back to our new weekday routine. The homeschooling around the weather station and the table is going better all the time. Ken had a talk with the boys about respecting their teacher and decreasing the whining about having to do things as well. There has been more complaints than usual lately. Partially out of frustration of the continuing upset, the resettling at Grandma and Grandpa’s and of course the big one – BEAUTIFUL WEATHER. Doing our daily weather report and watching the Weather Network has taught them how to glimpse ahead at the weather too… smart cookies! So now they are already chatting about TOMORROW’S lovely weather today… one step ahead and excited about it! 

Anyway, Ken started reading a USA themed book with them this morning, but I stuck with the tried and true. We have continued adding to our books, this time with the Sunday School special events. Even Emanuel got in on the work – he drew pictures and wrote some words on each page AND willingly worked on the math section of his workbook. I love watching him catch onto something, he was working his way quickly through simple addition using our counting blocks.

Working hard

Grandpa Mike was home for lunch which was beyond exciting and much discussion was had about Emanuel’s need for a haircut… we have a couple affordable options for tomorrow which he is VERY excited about. There was a list of chores Grandma left us and we all worked together to accomplish them. The twins collected the dog poop out of the backyard, Trinity watered the flowers in the front, we sorted out the recycling and Gavin helped me with mopping the kitchen… 

Creative watering

We skipped naptime and instead the littles had their own movie time in the twins’ bedroom – My Little Pony dvd from the library!

Movie time

Which left our afternoon open to Farmer Boy, and then THE POOL! Grandpa Mike had filled it the rest of the way with air so all we needed to add was children. 

Pool time

After drying off and tidying the backyard Zander spent some quality reading time on his level 1 Scooby Doo book. I am so glad they are each finding books to bring along their interest in reading!!

Reading away

And what is the best way to end an evening? A walk with Grandma and Gypsy… to the SLURPEE store… which meant EVERYONE ended up happy. Emanuel hopped, skipped and ran his way through our walk with a smile on his face. Gypsy is doing so well with the new way of walking suggested by a friend in the city. 

Ready to walk

Stops the pulling

My beloved middle child

The clock is ticking on the craft show… I have a few more things to accomplish before I am truly ready… headbands to assemble, the last of the purses, a float to collect together to make change. BUT the 9th is just around the corner! So if you are in the neighbourhood HERE is the link once again! Elk’s Hall, if you can’t see the link drop me a line and I will get you the info! Come support Arthritis research! 10% off all sales go to the cause! 

Our baby