July 24

What else is there to do on a summer afternoon – well celebrate a birthday of course! Alex Novak turned 9 this month after all! Definitely a party worthy occasion. And we were privileged enough to be allowed to come early and help out with the decorating and party prep work! There is, after all, a lot to do before a party, and only Darcy there to accomplish it. 

Snoopy!

 The kids (well the boys) were just over the moon to be able to join the kids for another day of fun and play. Alex was to be kept away from the party set up as much as possible as we tried to keep some things a surprise. For example the cake – something Darcy created from scratch based on something called Adventure Time. I personally have not seen the cartoon but the boys told me (the Novak ones) that it is  worth watching… I think Darcy’s cakes were inspired. 

One of 3

There were balloons to fill with helium and tablecloths to put on the tables outside. Don’t forget food to prepare. Darcy decided on something called walking tacos. You basically take a small bag of nachos and crush up the chips, add in your toppings and grab a fork. The kids seemed to love it!

Lining up for supper (Samantha and Andrew)

Anthony and friend

A full table

Add to that a bunch of kids, presents, adults and sunny weather right up until the end when it started to sprinkle and you had an amazing party. There were party games, a very short treasure hunt and even fishing for treats. 

Echo and Mommy

Water balloon toss

Dancing during foursquare

The winners of the treasure “hunt” (note that is the birthday boy)

Sack race

There were other little girls  there as well (2) and Echo of course made sure to latch onto her Anthony.

Anthony as a chauffeur

The birthday boy seemed happy with his presents…

Present time

And the cake (with ice cream) was a huge success. 

Blowing out the candles

A rainbow!

By the time it started sprinkling our crew was about partied out. So we helped with the clean up and then said our good byes. It is a great feeling that this was not one visit in a two week or even a month span but another visit of many over years! I am sort of getting the mindset that this is a long term thing… when I will be able to come to complete grips with all of this change and newness I cannot say. I am finally getting the feeling that I CAN do this though and that in and of itself feels like a success! 

Andy and Darcy

Birthday boy and his proud mom

Echo and her boy

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

I am not sure how many of my readers are aware of what the initials WIP mean but for many people it means WORK IN PROGRESS… now I honestly can say the dreaded WIP’s are not TOO numerous here in the Reinsch-Johnson home BUT they DO exist. One of the biggest thorns in my side is a WIP cross stitch that has chased me for YEARS… as in I think I began it back when Emanuel was little… it has morphed from tentative gift to tentative gift and for a while was placed out of sight. With the move to this present location the dreaded project was thrust out into the open (partially due to not having a safe place to store it and partially because seriously I NEED to get it done!) where any and all could see it. This has had the sad repercussion of people actually engaging me in conversation regarding it… Ohhh so it is by THAT artist (it is a Teresa Wentzler) and ooo when do you figure you will have that done… and how are you going to frame it… well, enough is enough… this WIP is officially PROGRESSING. I am at the drawing board for Christmas presents right now so I have no excuse, well until Ken buys me the duct tape he has promised me… but then again who can resist rolls of brightly coloured and patterned duct tape? I know I can’t. So… in keeping with my promise to myself to not unveil this piece until it is DONE DONE, here is a tiny chunk of progress… 

Just a bit

We are in full St. Patrick’s Day learning mode… another story today of course!!

Today's book

Rainbows have been added to our decorations… thanks to Trinity and Emanuel. Trinity cut MOST of hers out and then conned Emanuel into doing the rest… you turn your back for ONE minute! 

St. Patrick's Day curtain

I am hopeful that MARCH will be the month for Gavin to finish his cross stitch. He is making some progress but lacks the drive to go back to it every day. 

Stitching

Of course with fresh Play Doh in the house there are MANY spontaneous creative group moments. Note that in the below picture Echo is given “twisty crayons”… while she is one smart cookie it is not the best idea to tempt fate and give her something that seems so much more… edible!

Around the table (Emanuel was still napping!)

We started with some Ireland related videos today. I found the official Discover Ireland youtube feed last night and had it set up to watch their whole series. We skipped the first one on Bed and Breakfasts and the boys watched 2-13… the one item shared with Mommy during her bath – Ireland apparently has over 90 beaches! 

Each of the kids drew their own special pictures about yesterday’s Sledding and Skating Party. I love seeing what stood out for each kid… Trinity’s was very cute with a picture of myself with a marshmallow in my hand by the fire… with the bag of them on a table! 

Trinity's

Zander and Gavin's

Inside

I love having them reflect back on an event and create some sort of art or other memorandum. 

Emanuel's

We have worked on our mini books… cut out pieces for a couple games (pictures to follow tomorrow) and of course played Legos… I am amazed at how well the boys are sounding out their words now and the excitement that they feel for themed pages. Put a shamrock on most anything right now or a well placed Leprechaun and they are all over it!!

So we made it through our Monday with a minor amount of fuss and bother. I am hoping the rest of the week will follow suit. After all we have a birthday party in the city on Saturday followed by Sunday School. I honestly am not planning anything else until AFTER Echo’s surgery… so if you feel the urge to see our little pixie before it please let me know, we should be home! 

Our little girl