Today was a bit of an off day for me… the activities for the kids went off without any major hitch and I even finished a project (more about that later though I am sure if you have read previous entries you can guess EXACTLY which one)… but for some reason just did not feel that I accomplished enough today. I find that some days just don’t feel full enough… but looking back I know I did SOMETHING.

So the family walk which started off the Rock Critters… of course since Ken was coming with there was a bit of a problem with the boys being ready WAY before he was and thus getting antsy which led to a rather major altercation between the twins in front of the door.  Something about who was standing near the door handle and the fact that Mommy said NO ONE should be standing there. So the agressor got sent to time out and the recipient who was ALSO in the wrong was sent to sit on the couch. This of course led to Emanuel coming up to tell me HE was being good (figures). Once time outs were spent and appologies said we were ready to go.

Emanuel and Trinity got the choice seats in the wagon, though Emanuel was a sweety and let each of his brothers have a turn! Ok so now such a happy thing for me who definitely noticed the difference in weight between pulling Emanuel and each of the bigger boys!

Note the Bonnet Made by Grandma Anna!

Zander is REALLY Getting too Big LOL

We took our time and did a nice long loop around the neighborhood. There was lots to see, some ratehr creative yards and doors and such. One house even had statues of bears that were adorable!

Bear Statues... the Boys Were IMPRESSED!

On the ride home we pilfered some rocks from someone’s yard (shhh), flat at least on one side and one for each boy. These were brought home to become our rock critters. Of course once we got home there was an apple and water snack at the picnic table before heading in to paint! All that walking sure does bring on the munchies and what better than apple segments (skin off for Trinity of course!)… one nice sized apple is enough for all 4 to have a decent before lunch snack!

Success! 4 Rocks! Gavin is in the red

I did things a little differently with the rock critters than when we did them way back in the winter. This time I had each boy choose ONE colour. Emanuel red, Gavin white and Zander blue. I used the lids off of baby food jars (we have tons) and gave them each a paintbrush and let them go at it! They then wanted a second colour so we just threw that on top. Luckily they were complimentary colours and if nothing else mixed with the wet paint already on nicely.

Note the Smocks (Michaels on clearance!)... Zander far left

Emanuel, Gavin and Zander's Painted

These were left to dry until after quiet/nap time. Emanuel had a bit of a problem getting to sleep. I think he was feeling a bit of whatever Trinity had… and has also gotten a rash on the inside of his legs. I am not sure if it is from his pull ups rubbing or his shorts, but potty training can be the pits!

After supper when the bugs were nice and dry each boy got to pick out googly eyes (I have 4 sizes I got at a dollar store), a little black pompom for a nose (I got those in some foam shape kit) and then a colour of construction paper I cut in to wings for them… no one wanted pipe cleaner legs though it was an option. I then had Ken use the hot glue and each boy take his turn dictating where each piece went. And there you go ROCK CRITTERS! And 3 very happy boys. Of course KEN hasn’t done his yet. I am hoping to corner him on that one tomorrow.

Each Boy Got His Say on Placement!

Gavin's Started off White!

Post Sand and Water Play = Clothes Muddy! Zander

I am debating where to put them… originally I was thinking in their Acorn Squash pots (which are getting VERY crowded!) but with the paper wings I may just have to find a fun place out of reach of Trinity to keep them in. Maybe around our paper flowers we have showing the numbers we have learned. There are 7 in the “vase” now (a wine glass) and hopefully Friday I will go over 8 with them. They already can count past that but we are working on actually WRITING the numbers properly.

Finished Product! (Don't ask the breed of critter lol) Emanuel, Zander, Gavin

On to the finish project… the evil bat has been vanquished and I am VERY happy with the results. I am not going to post the picture quite yet as it IS a Christmas present but I plan on adding the pattern to my site very soon – just need Ken to show me how to do it. I ended up outlining the bat in a silver Kreinik – very fine braid (#4) 001V. I am hoping to get Ken to use the same set up and get a design made for the one for my nephew and go from there. There is always the stocking waiting for me AND a Teresa Wentzler that has to be done for the spring as a surprise gift to another family member… I have offered to do a couple simple ones for people if they give me a saying. Easiest way to do a Christmas present ever!

We had a surprise visitor today as well! Our friend Sean who is working to become a plumber had an accident on the job and damaged his ankle. We are closest to the hospital and of coure always home so a kind gentleman who was also at the hospital drove him here. He is crashing for the night and then Ken will take him to his car which is over at his job site! Poor guy has to wait 4 days for the swelling to go down. No Heritage Festival for him! Thankfully I was home, Ken was out picking up our friend Fydo for a night of Magic the Gathering so was not even home to go get him even IF Sean had had his cell phone (which is in his car) with our number to call! ACK! And with Ken and I having our cell phones turned off to save money… we are rather incognito out of the house. It is an odd feeling and really quite worrisome. I am sure once things are… better… KEN’s will be one of our first things to deal with, myself I am going to wait. There are better things to spend money on. The main reason we got my cell in the first place was there was a couples deal going on so I could call Ken for free (still can if it was working) and I was pregnant with Trinity and he worked outside the house. So really NOT a big deal. The boys were quite concerned that Sean was NOT alright and wanted to know ALL the details… and of course Emanuel had to show him HIS booboos on his legs from his rash!

You Can See the Swelling! Thank Goodness NOT Broken!

All Wrapped Up

What else do I have to share today… well the raspberry bush is still taking no prisoners… I have lots of lovely scratches though Ken has promised tomorrow there will be some payback. Not so much against the bushes (who are really giving us quite the bountiful harvest) but the overgrown weeds and dead branches that keep attacking. I think when we have our very own house that is relatively permanent raspberry bushes are going to be my first foray into a “real” garden. They seem to be rather low maintenance and I do so love raspberries. I have already manged to fill a nice sized container in the freezer AND have enough for the kids to have some every day! BONUS! Now for the apples on the trees to be ready! Can you say APPLESAUCE?? I have even had offers of assistence YAY!

Tomorrow is  the weekly homeschool park date which I am planning on going to for at least an hour. There is a lot to be done here at home with us gone for most of Saturday and Sunday for one reason or another. I also intend to get sorted enough that by Friday we can rest a little. Tomorrow is also when we plan on going to get our food tickets for the Festival. I think we are going to be a bit adventurous and get more tickets even with the added cost. After all this IS our one big thing for the month of July and potentially August! I also signed all 3 boys up for the puppetshow on the 8th since we are not able to make it to the wedding that day. The librarian sounded VERY excited about it… something about it being done by a woman who does shows for the local tv station. The boys LOVE a good puppet show.

So my day felt a little blah… the kids fought a little more than normal… and Trinity was a bit crankier than I would have liked BUT we also laughed together, created together and simply spent time together. So though I FEEL blah I KNOW I am lucky! 4 kids, one husband and friends who contact me online just to share their day… what a blessing! I was talking with my friend Ada about life and the day as a whole and went looking on Facebook for our wedding photos and came upon the ones of baby Trinity and tiny curls and all Emanuel… who would have ever thought that here I would be with the love of my life, 3 little boys AND a baby girl? So what if we don’t have our very own house yet, or all the money in the world? All the money in the world cannot give me my family… or my friends… and both are more precious! Thank you Ada for being here to remind me of that!

Isn't She Lovely? June 20th Canadian Wedding!

Well the heat wave has seemed to be at a temporary (at least) end… last night we got a nice storm that while it cooled down the area also soaked the kids’ sand (they SAY the lid was on the turtle box but I DO have my doubts). Regardless they had a sand soup and were LOVING it! Even better for the Mommy was the fact they kept said sand OUTSIDE! In fact, all 3 remained relatively clean for a large portion of the day… if you DON’T count lunch!

Ok so lunch… a great success and MY idea! Something we have NOT had here in the Reinsch-Johnson home since we were forced to tighten our financial belt and refrain from eating out or ordering in – PIZZA! And not just any pizza but HOMEMADE pizza made on a pita for a crust! Homemade by each boy… what a treat… cooking and art class all rolled into one! Our ingredients were simple as I am using what I have in the house (and the pitas we bought at H&W for like $1.75 for 7). So Ken took our can of tomatoe paste and added garlic salt and italiano seasoning and warmed it up. We grated whatever cheese we had in the house (something that has now moved up the priority list to have in the house on a consistent basis since Miss T decided she liked it!) and cut up some of the ham slices (so affordable to buy at the Wholesale place in a nice large package).

Ken was in charge of the sauce application but was CAREFULLY supervised by the boys who were VERY adament that daddy had to do his very best to get sauce EVERYWHERE…

Supervised Sauce Application

There Was CAREFUL Ham Application

And a Large Degree of Proudness For The Placement of Cheese!

Zander's Personal Pizza

Gavin and His Interpretation On Pizza :)

Yes, He Was Being a Smart A$$

Then each boy did his own… first ham of course and then cheese… and then into the oven for about 5 min at 325 F. Nice and crispie with the cheese nicely melted. Each boy had his very own pizza to spread all over his face. Tummies were full and smiles were abundant and I, myself also enjoyed the very special treat. Definitley a do over for this family!

Mmmm Delish! Zander, Gavin and Emanuel

Now our hot baby… last night Trinity woke up radiating heat. We moved her into our bed and she managed to take over over half of it pushing me down to the end and basically taking over the pillows. So Ken was sent to the livingroom to make do. Even today while her arms and legs were not too warm the rest of her was rather warm to the touch. She had a nap in her crib this afternoon and some good meals and even a little cat nap on daddy in the basement but needed some tylenol before bed. She woke up for 30 min to cry and complain but so far has been asleep. I am hoping this is just a one day sort of bug as she gets quite miserable when sick. Not to mention pushy… she doesn’t want anyone anywhere and will come right up and shove you! At least  tomorrow is another basically at home day – though we plan to go for a family walk.

Apples to Settle The Tummy

I have come to the realization that there was a REAL reason why my Light Effects (DMC) were put aside… they are ANNOYING to work with.. slippery and testy and my very own new nemesis! I really hope my sister in law LOVES purple and shiny as man did I have to fight the thread. I think the biggest issue was the fact that I have not worked with this type of floss in months. I am sorely out of practice… but don’t get me wrong that does NOT mean I want to dive right in and work with it tons, but I really should do more projects with “the shiny” the result IS rather cool.  I just have to decide if I want to outline the silly thing with MORE shiny (I do believe the sister in law has mentioned silver) or leave it as is… what do you all think? Then there was the saying… oh dear that stupid “T” in Batman hated me for a moment… the pattern Ken made up had a space like you would assume if you only counted the x’s BUT visually it looked wrong so out that had to come… here’s hoping the next line goes off without a hitch! I already have a friend lined up to try and design me a little shape to go at the bottom of my brother’s saying and Ken is going to work on my nephew’s design very soon… I hope!

Bat Nemesis AKA Light Effects E155.. I Thwarted You!

Hmm what a boring day in retrospect… I got a nice full bowl of raspberries and met my first goal of a decent sized container in the freezer. Ken is planning on cutting back more of the weeds so I stop getting attacked when I go to pick. Tomorrow is another cleaning day… I want to get this cross stitch done and try and get our bedroom sorted a bit better. I figure the boys can work on numbers or letters in their dry erase books as I have yet to make a “Reinsch-Johnson” poster to match the other ones on the wall of their first names. Though I think I will just teach them to spell Johnson first. I believe that could be an adventure and a half!

I do have a cute picture of the day… to cool Trinity off before Ken ran out to the store he took her out the front door for a little walk to see the grass and whatnot. I am so proud of my hubby and his love for his kids! What more can I ask for – a man who loves and cares for all of us, without feeling tied  down and frustrated, who WANTS to have a family the same size as me (5 kids for those who wish to know though be warned #5 is NOT any time soon! We are young, we have time so chill everyone!), who thinks I am beautiful even when I feel shabby and believes that no sacrifice is too great for his family. While not a saint he is close enough for me! And a sarcastic  ass to boot! My American Penny… though worth WAY more than that to me!

Daddy and His Davine Little Girl

You know it was a hot weekend when you start thinking about wishing it would SNOW… but the truth is it is a heck of a lot easier to WARM UP than to COOL DOWN! With the temperature hitting the 30’s (celcius) it was hard enough to stay motivated let alone active.

Friday was a warm day to begin with. I had to limit the kids’ time outside and spent most of our day with them in the basement and us upstairs in front of the fan. Even then it was far from cool and comfortable.

Daddy and His Little Girl

Sharing a Giggle

We moved the pool to under the tree so at least the time the boys were allowed out was spennt in the shade. And of course a nice cool and LONG bath after for all 3. Trinity as has become somewhat of a routine ended up in her baby bath in the livingroom… something she has come to expect and REALLY enjoy! Though this time we had to dump out and refill after an “accident” in the bath…

Beating the Heat!

Chris and Chris stopped by with all the fixings for dinner the next day… including condiments (so smart since we are low on those) and DEER burgers! Homemade of course! Something I have never had before. So we also got in a little visit, adult company is ALWAYS nice. Especially with people who share Ken’s sense of humour (that can be FEW and FAR between!)

Saturday Ken slipped out of the house before Trinity and myself had awoken leaving the boys watching a cartoon. With the day projected to be blisteringly hot I sent the boys out straight after breakfast (and my bath) to play in the backyard taking Trinity with to pick raspberries and enjoy what little shade there was. After lunch when the heat REALLY hit we all went down to the basement (bliss) where we all pitched in – some to a greater degree (ie. ME) and cleaned the basement… well the toy room and bonus quiet room. It took over an hour and a nice lecture about how things will have to GO BACK to where they were EVERY TIME or toys may just start disappearing! We shall see how long it lasts… to date they have been beyond excellent with putting their toys back in order with minimum fuss. Trinity found some baby dolls to play with that for some reason wouldn’t do exactly what she thought they should so she spent most of HER time yelling at them! It was quite entertaining and she still seemed to be having fun so we left her to it.

BEFORE the Clean

AFTER the Clean (Gavin in blue)

All of that added to my earlier work on the livingroom and the kitchen (clean counter tops and stove and everything!) and I felt quite accomplished! On the other hand; Chris, Chris, Ken and Chris (female)’ daughter Amanda and her boyfriend Sheldon (who is Scottish) were hard at work moving. They actually had to stop mid afternoon just because it was so hot and leave the rest to go back to on Sunday.

So around 3pm everyone showed up here at the house with beer and tired people. After a bit of gaming on the Xbox 360 (thank goodness Chris and Chris had 2 extra controllers we only have one) Chris (male) set to work making the deer burgers… which apparently have to be mixed with regular hamburger as there is so little fat and alone they don’t stay together! We also had chips and dip and watched Hogfather the movie. Rested, drank beer and visited. Talk about fun!

Chris and Ken Dishing Up

DEER Burgers!

So I have tried Deer! Add that to my trying of Sushi and I am feeling quite experimental! We have made plans with Nathan and Ada to go to the Heritage Festival next weekend where there will be food from all over the world as Ken has told me he will “make it happen.” We have been so tight with our budget I have basically not done ANYTHING that cost extra this month (besides parking at City Hall) so I feel this treat would be well worth it – 10.00 for the bus both ways and then 25.00 for 30 food tickets… of course bring snacks as some items are more than one ticket. But fun! And with a fun couple too! AND my first  tine on a bus! ANYWAY…

Saturday night did NOT cool down so the boys asked to sleep in the basement and actually were VERY good about it! All 3 of them down in the quiet room on the futon though Gavin came up late in the night saying it was not soft enough (it IS a very thin mattress) and slept the rest of the night in his room. Emanuel thought it was the most AMAZING treat! And they only came up 4 times to say good night lol.

Sleeping in the Basement (Gavin in blue)

Ken, Trinity and I on the other hand were up way past our bed time. It was creeping up on midnight before Trinity went to sleep as we did not want her laying in the room screaming in the heat. Myself I PLANNED on going to bed before midnight but was up until near 2 am just waiting for it to cool down. Luckily Ada and Nathan were also online so there was someone to talk to. Though the lucky ducks had their balcony to go onto that eventually had cooled down a bit. Finally at about 4 am when Ken went to bed (figures) there was a rather major storm. I remember hearing wind and for some reason jumping almost a foot when Ken went to bed but missed the whole thing! And of course all the cool weather THAT brought in was gone by lunch time today!

Sunday dawned relatively cool. Ken didn’t have to head over until 9 as Chris found a flat on their truck last night (darn you Murphy!) and was the first one to their old place. It took them a little longer than expected to get the move done as the cable man showed up to hook up their internet and all but it all got finished.  lucked out – I made the boys scrambled eggs with cheese and ham and then trucked everyone outside. I got a nice sized bowl of raspberries this morning and another this evening. Half are in the freezer. The boys got in some play time and then played in the basement before lunch  (more deer burgers)… Nathan and Ada came by in the afternoon so I even had some adult company! And then when Chris, Chris and Ken got home everyone had burgers and more visiting. I think I have gotten more adult company this weekend than in the whole month and it has ROCKED!

The boys had time in the pool, freezies, and spent hours downstairs without major fighting. Although as soon as I called my mom to say happy birthday Emanuel bit Zander andGavin started arguing with them – figures – phone is like a magic switch for my kids to go BONKERS! Ken and I have decided we will take the family to a family gathering for my mom’s Morse side. They have yet to meet Trinity and the last time we were at a family get together was when my grandma died. Sadly this means going to my cousin’s wedding on my dad’s side may not be possible (though it was dicey to begin with – they are over 3 hrs away where as this is only an hour) BUT we DID see them at Christmas… I hate to miss a Reinsch gathering but what can you do? Gas is pricey and budget SUPER tight… I am hoping on a mini miracle on Monday which would allow us BOTH trips but am not getting too optimistic. If nothing else I am already working on a wedding sampler pattern… he suggested leather and skulls, the colours are teal and chocolate brown… I am thinking maybe go a little gothic style (not GOTH but gothic… period style) and sneak in a skull but do it in those two rich colours with a more feminine alphabet… I just need to source it all out! This is a rather special date for my mom as it is a memorial for her aunt who passed away last year AND a celebration of the family owning the same piece of farm land for 100 yrs!!! Amazing huh?

Right now all 3 boys are bunked down in the basement – this time with an air mattress on top for extra “soft” to keep Gavin happy. I figure as long as they are good and it is hot what a treat right?

Our plans for tomorrow aren’t too shabby either – we need to go back to the H & W… there is a sale on grapes, carrots, peaches, etc… drop off some library books sometime that day, pick raspberries, talk about farmers and play outside. And… if I can keep Ken motivated and the weather stays hot – back to the Leg this time EVERYONE in bathingsuits and Trinity in the floaty thing we bought way back when to SIT in the bigger fountain – BLISS! So stuff to look forward to to be sure!

Of course we are still hoping on forward movement with all of our stresses right now.. as well as some sort of response from our MP on our government problem (boo). So who knows Monday could be a really good day or…. more of the same? Lets shoot for really good and if my calls don’t come through I will MAKE it good!

Backyard Berries

After all who can be blue when there are so many yummy raspberries around? Oh… Best line of the weekend – Trinity was standing in front of the tv blocking the boys’ view… Zander stood up with a toy for her – a cup with a suction cupped ball stuck in it: “Trinity ball… stuck in a cuppy…” and the moment she took it “…now go away…” all in the same sing song tone lol!!!