And I am back in catch up mode… sorry all! Let’s go back to Tuesday… The sunshine keeps on coming which has totally worked in our favour. The boys are still resistant to doing work out in the sunshine but less so than in the house. We are still mainly focused on Farmer Boy and his adventures which is just fine with me. The newest one – Tin-Peddler. We have been working on a list of all the characters in the story… Mr. Nick Brown the peddler was our newest addition. 

Gavin and Zander

What interested Mommy was the statement that Almanzo knew that little boys could listen to adults conversing but NEVER interrupt by talking. The twins were less than enthused but I am hoping we can apply that nugget of knowledge at least to the point where we decrease interruptions by little pitchers with big ears.

Our actual visit to the green and park had to be sped along to just sitting by the park though. The city was cutting the green and that meant we couldn’t spread out our blanket and enjoy the sunshine before heading onto the park. Thankfully the grass around the park was already done and we could find a nice bit of grass to settle on.

The cause of our plan change

We made up for it with pop

The kids were a little disappointed that the little boys from Monday were not there but they managed. Sand is always a fun thing to be around after all and this park is kept rather clean.

They were making a mine apparently

I took my time in the sunshine to make some more stacked bows. It wasn’t too difficult once the kids finished their writing and discussing of the chapter, to spread out and work out some combinations. I completed all but the portions that require hot glue. 

Crafting in process

We spent hours out in the sun, luckily it was not as hot out as projected (26 Celcius) and a little overcast. We are all starting to see some lightening in out hair from the sun! 

At the park

That night it was my time to take Echo and go back to Karyn’s for our weekly visit. The plan WAS for one night but… anyway… after work Karyn AND Lauralee came and collected myself and Echo. Always a bit of a pain in the bum with the playpen to drag along AND the carset to install.

We kept it earlier since Karyn had to go to work crack of dawn the next day and I stayed up to watch a little Netflix after Karyn and Echo had gone to bed. That left Wednesday as a major crafting day. I brought with me the features and wings to 4 owls, some ribbon and a stack of felt to make into felt bows on bobby pins. Karyn and I had stopped Dollarama the night before where I found a solution to displaying everyone on our table. Lots of bright coloured plastic containers! I am looking forward to next week when Ken and I are going to head to the one local to my mom’s place and do some minor shopping. 1.00 a piece!!

With Netflix, only one kitty and some crafting time I really had a great day of it. Dare (actually spelled DERE oops but shall remain Dare for my word search count) even came out and hung around in public! I can’t say that he LIKES us, but he has gotten more used to us! And he and Echo seem to have somewhat bonded on their hatred of Karyn’s shop vac.

Cat in Public

We had planned on going back to Chris and Chris’ that night but Ken suggested we stay another… so a dinner of slurpees and 7-11 chicken and wedges was planned and a brief run to the Superstore for lunch the next day… then one load of laundry to cover diapers and we were set for a VERY lazy evening of chatting… once Echo went to bed of course! 

Baby in the sunshine

Baby on the balcony

Baby asleep... with Fat Sheep

So that was the first half of my week! Nothing extreme but some really great moments! 

GASP hedgehog!

Ok so back to hunting rentals means Ken needs quiet and time to do that AND work… so I came up with an idea – cardstock, white paper and a stapler and BINGO nature books. Trinity’s had to be pink of course. With a lovely sunny day in the making, Echo down for naps and Ken with a plan of attack the remaining 4 little Reinsch-Johnsons, a bag of apples, nature books and crayons, my novel and the camera, and of course a blanket to sit on and we were off. 

Noms

There is a lovely patch of green not far from the duplex that is lined with fences and trees so of course it was the perfect place to sit down and work on our books. Of course I had to re-explain the concept after one boy drew a fence and a house and considered that nature but we did rather well. There was a particularily inspired picture by Gavin of a spider web that was a single long strand blowing in the wind. He even included Trinity and Emanuel in the picture and had them stand still so he could look at what they were wearing to make it more true to the reality of the event. 

Artist at work

After munching our apples and drawing the pictures we headed further up the hill and on to the park. The main attraction of the day of course. Sadly, there was a neighbour in the close that was burning wood and after a little while it was blowing into the park. This coincided with a couple splinters (Gavin and Trinity) and ended our park date.

Burning off energy

Little monkeys

Our timing was rather good as that got us home for lunch, then Daddy having his shower and making a few calls before we packed up the van and went to Walmart. It was a special trip… I wanted an itty bitty bikini (purple, purchased, pics??? MAYBE) and the kids had finally earned their Lego purchases. 

Don’t forget the all important stop by at the bakery counter for the free cookie for the kids. Chocolate chip so we had to take Echo down to her diaper and headband. (she was wearing the new dress I picked up when out with Karyn and Victoria) Ken said he felt very “ghetto”…

So we managed to get back in one piece with our loot and of course it was instant chaos at the table. Everyone needed stuff built, there were instructions to read and lots to see. I think everyone was well pleased and plans are in the works already for the next big save up of allowance! 

Post cookie, cleaned up and in new dress

There was enough time to check the packing job I had done, finish up the laundry and build some Lego before Karyn showed up to take the female members of the Reinsch-Johnson family to her house for a girly sleepover. She was providing a quiet environment and munchies in exchange for my cleaning assistance. DEAL! 

First stop Sobeys and ANOTHER free cookie to get food for us over the next day or so… then to Dollarama for TREATS. AND random Hutterite woman homemade apple pie! Seriously, she was outside of Dollarama and was selling her last two. Apparently we are both a sucker for a mild German accent. Anyway, in Dollarama we got wipes (2.00 for 72 Sesame Street themed), bobby pins (gotta keep creating) and of course snacks… oh and something for Trinity – she was overjoyed with her Princess themed bubbles. 

This got us home STARVING so it was time to set up the playpen and start dinner… and for me to start cleaning (well enough dishes to make supper easier)… We put away the groceries and found that the bag individual had put an extra bag of groceries in our cart! A container of panini buns AND two jars of olives (YUM). So we had some bonus snacks. Was a bit of a surprise as there your groceries are bagged for you and placed in the cart. 

We ran out of time for pie and instead had to settle for chicken fingers, potatoes and cookies. No one complained and a relaxing evening was had. Of course we had to do SOME girly stuff… like blow bubbles on the balcony in the dark…

Night time balcony bubbles

And brush each other’s hair!

Hair time!

Then it was off to bed. We were all up in time to see Karyn off to work at 8 am and then it was Fruit Loops for breakfast and cleaning for me. Dishes, floors, counter tops… it was all simple and quick really. Though we had to use Karyn’s “special” vacuum and Echo really did NOT approve (in fact she vindictively dumped over 90 crayons out TWICE in protest of its use)… it was a shop vac and as far as Echo was concerned proof of the end of the world being near! I don’t think the resident cat much approved either! 

A glimpse

And then some

Then we had time to craft (mommy), colour (Trinity) and just sort of explore around (Echo) the apartment until Karyn came home from work. I would have taken the girls out myself but they decided to take turns napping. So instead we hung out upstairs the whole day. With the balcony to bop out on and blow the odd bubble or two and the sun coming in to make what Trinity called a “sunny spot” we were pretty content. 

Sunny spot

Sisterly iPad time

You should have heard Trinity’s conversation about Karyn’s cat who of course was a NICE kitty so it really SHOULD want her to pet it! As it has to like Trinity and Echo as they are NICE girls and it (though I think Trinity thought he was a she) was a NICE cat. So of course, all of that made sense. In fact, before we left Karyn’s Trinity actually almost successfully attempted a pet! I think Dare was just too darn surprised to react! 

By the time Karyn got home from work Ken had suggested we take a SECOND night away (he was getting tons done and there were viewings to line up for the next day in the city anyway) so we figured out the logistics (need to do laundry – diapers) and then it was time to take the girls out for some fresh air. 

There is a park right behind Karyn’s building but it had half logs to walk on which were hard for Trinity with her smaller feet so we decided to make a trek and go the 1.2 km down the path across the street to the next park. Even Echo did a bunch of walking! We saw dogs, benches, and interesting people.

Baby on her feet

The park at the end of the path was deemed acceptable by Trinity and she had a blast running in the sand and sliding down the slide. Definitely leading to a necessary bath that night! But it was well earned.

Run!

After our lengthy walk and play it was time to have supper (left overs for the girls) which meant soybeans and PIE! Mmm it actually was rather good, once we added some cinnamon to it…

Pie

Add in a bath for Trinity and then it was time to sit around and relax once again. With all the bow making I had done that day I was free to pay on the iPad at night!

The fruits of my labour

Of course we had to do two loads of laundry… it has been FOREVER since I have done that with pay laundry. Karyn has a card they use and it is a little more expensive than I remember but it felt very dorm-y… from when I visited friends there… and very much like the apartment we were in when the twins were little and after Emanuel was born.

Echo self occupied

Wednesday morning we were up by 7:30 thanks to Echo being an early bird. So we had half an hour to hang out with Karyn while she got ready for work. And then it was time for girly quiet time in the form of a MY LITTLE PONY MARATHON! (the new version). YouTube and Karyn’s Macbook for the win! 

Of course there was some back and forth on the balcony for bubble time. We found out the best mixture is this green apple no name brand dishsoap with water. It was the Superstore brand (aromatherapy).

Taking a My Little Pony break by playing on a generic pony app!

I tried for a nap while Echo had her first nap but only got in 15 min… so instead I worked on some felt critters (Hello Kitty and penguin may just make it to the sale!) and took in the My Little Pony phenomena first hand. 

Ready to go with Daddy

The boys had to double check the usefulness of the backyard park

Ken and the boys picked us up Wednesday night and then after saying good bye to Karyn, packing up the van and buckling in it was time for supper… special supper. We went to the bigger of the malls and let the kids walk the foodcourt and each pick their own meal.  What a variety! Though we really missed TacoBell, TacoTime is much more expensive! Yours truly opted for Edo. 

Noms

And more noms

With a stop off at Walmart for some needed groceries we got back to Chris and Chris’ in time for baths and bed. A full and wonderful beginning to my week and Ken managed to see 4 places (one would work and has our references)… so a great start bouncing back! OH and on top of that, Wednesday night Gavin lost that pesky second front top tooth, WITHOUT fuss! So only that first top was with an odd root! What a relief! 

Cutie pie

May 1st started with rain and cranky children. Ok cranky Mommy too… We did manage to jump into our schoolwork with both feet – after all Farmer Boy had to tell us all about how he spends a Saturday night. Then draw some pictures from the trip and of course do a little math.

Boys at work

What was glaringly absent was the beginning of our move to our new rental. We had a bit of a delay on that one in the form of a lack of communication from the potential new landlord. We knew he was getting down to the line on his repairs and that he was most likely rushing around trying to get them done but with no word it was time to contact our second choice (which was equally nice and willing to wait for the 1st to pass to hear from us as they had not had any other concrete and respectable interest). As usual life is always the hard way round for this family, at least lately! 

We did finally hear from #1 late Tuesday night… Ken was right, he had been rushing around trying to get everything done so we COULD move in. Sadly he could not, but is willing to refund our deposit AND if we cannot get into a place when it IS finally done it is still ours. He could not give us a move in date though so basically that is that. 

The kids are very frustrated… and I can’t really blame them! With the rain as well it is hard to keep them occupied. We are all done with tv… missing our things and in need of the ability to reorganize our life and our priorities to make us all happier. Ken works so hard to try and make our life better, I just want it to all work out so we can have more of his time and energy directed at happier things. 

Echo and Duke

I have gotten some crafty items in the mail recently from eBay… I know have ribbon AND clips to continue with my bow making

Wednesday was another wet day. Math focused for schooling… and of course frustrated children for the win. Trinity started working on her birthday present – a jewelry box. 

Sticking on the pretties... she did some by the instructions and others... winged it

Pretty much we held down the fort and waited for the email… it took a bit as #2 was stuck out of the city longer than they thought but they were able to confirm that we could have their rental. We just need to wait on them to return to the city. So that was a HUGE load off the shoulders mid afternoon. Of course you depend on nothing but the keys in your hand. 

I found my glue gun after a little searching and with the help of some of my new ribbon and the new alligator clips off eBay was able to finish some more bows. I need to take some time soon and lay out everything I have made and see how much I have all together. 

I love these, they are all on alligator clips

In purple

Baby's First Christmas

Some more purple

I have talked a couple friends who are already working on their contributions for our craft table! Pretty exciting!

And that leads us into Thursday… can’t the week just end already?? And by end I mean end with us comfortably (or even uncomfortably) ensconced in our new rental. The kids are done done DONE and ready to get into their own space again. We did sneak out while Echo was sleeping and Ken working away at his computer and went to the store to get slurpees. A bit of a chilly walk but the signs of spring are here and there.

My boys

Such a girly girl

The kitty we met on our walk

We did continue with Farmer Boy. This chapter we learned about how different Sunday could be. Everything from the hoop skirts (which Gavin drew for our book) to sitting silently in church and then coming home and doing the same. Boy were they glad we don’t have to sit still ALL DAY on Sundays NOW. I don’t think they fully understand why Almanzo had to. I think we are all looking forward to Sunday when we plan on getting back into Sunday School. Much easier now that we have a working van of our own. 

Random Echo picture.. I had an extra

One step closer to regular life. The next step is to refocus the schooling. I look forward to having all my supplies at hand again. We are still planning to make paper in the summer and of course there are a few museums etc I would like to take the kids to! Thank goodness we can plow through summer and get back to where I had hoped to be when I started this academic year. 

It is amazing how life goes up and down and around the corner. I can honestly say we have had many more adventures than I ever though we would. Not sure if that is really a GOOD thing… I wish I could remember who wished us an interesting life together at our wedding… though they may be glad I can’t remember as I am not 100% sure I would thank them! 

A touch of spring... just because

Anyway, in celebration of getting one step closer to normal Reinsch-Johnson life (which everyone tells me is nowhere NEAR normal for the rest of the world!) I do believe I will craft. After all I have some featureless owls to do, bows to discover and of course that WIP that is skulking around that I have not touched in a month (OOPS!). 

Baby girl

Oh, another Comic-con find… a lovely leather book. This was hand done and marked down to 20.00. I am not sure what all I will put in there but it is absolutely LOVELY! They are done by a husband and wife duo called PHASHA. I love mine, though I wish there would have been one this size with a fairy on it!!

So lovely!