…and Monday brings reality crashing right back down! Do you remember when the sound of the postman brought joy and excitement? At this point in my still youthful life I am finding each day brings me a feeling of minor dread at that sound. Today was no different and this time was actually appropriate. There are days where I wonder at the intelligence behind the decision to go to University to get a degree in… philosophy and religion only to end up married (happily mind you) with 4 kids and no concrete plans toward furthering that rather expensive education into something that would potentially mean I had a viable and well paid job. In fact, with my degree I need ANOTHER degree just to really do so!

Yes yes the government wants their money back and NOW… does the fact we have so little make much of a difference? Well, with the direct loans YES with the originals I had through an unnamed bank… not so much. Don’t get me wrong, I do not regret the experience OR the degree, it is just that right now it is hard to keep ones’ head above the water when the waves are cresting in. Add to that problems with payments made (yes we HAVE receits) one with a store card and the other with a bank credit card and I am about ready to hide under the nearest bed with a good book, a comfy blanket and a favourite teddy bear.

So I have said my prayers, sent out my positive thoughts and started a couple of hopeful money making ventures (my patterns with donations and the offer to stitch Tux for a fee for the non stitching peoples and Kijiji adds of baby clothes etc) with the intent of doing SOMETHING. I have good intentions and low expectations. I am certainly not comfortable sitting back and doing nothing (I think many people would say I NEVER am).

Anyway enough worried venting! How has  the REST of the day been (beyond the minor taint of the mail mess)… our morning started out a little slow. I was personally up later than planned so with the ability to sleep in a bit in the offering I took it. Getting the boys dressed took FOREVER – Emanuel is always a slow dresser but it certainly did NOT help when Trinity ran in and stole his pants… for some reason it offends him to get underwear on when the pants have been stolen… each and every piece of clothing has to be IN THE ROOM for him to wear… so of course I had to chase down the giggling baby and steal them back. This resulted in tears on HER end. Since the weather has cooled drastically there was the inevitable argument about shorts vs.jeans… All of this before 10 am.

We managed our letter of course… the letter U which Zander quickly recalled was “with Q.” Although our Currclick program had Uncle Sam as one of the examples so I just explained to the boys it is like Uncle James or Uncle Nathan or even Uncle Ted. It was all for nought anyway as the boys were MUCH more interested in the unicorn and umbrella.

Emanuel, recognizing that there is a “u” in his name felt the urge to draw some of his own! Which was wonderful!

The next morning activity was to make up tiny books of shapes that the boys traced and coloured in and then drew a couple of their own. The twins had to write the names of the shapes they drew (of course they chose rectangles and were rather unimpressed by the length of the name!!!). I figured the brads were better than stapling so we could glue them down and they could kind of spin out the shapes. (Don’t worry I will link as much as I can after I am done the lapbook and can post the whole thing)

That was the extent of our morning. The boys wanted a quick run outside and then to head to the basement to play.. The afternoon was not overly better. Granted we got a few things done BUT the attitude in general of the boys – SUCKED.

I taught them the new song to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell about shapes. Emanuel especially LOVED that one! We had some dancing and singing in the livingroom before Zander knocked over Trinity and Emanuel had a fit… but we did have fun!

I sat all three of them down and we wrote a story about our Sunday. I love doing this as it gives you an idea as to what parts of the event “stick” in their mind and which kid really enjoyed what! Right now we write our story together but I am hoping in the next year or so to get down to doing it one on one and working with them to write it themselves!

Our Busy Sunday

We went to a museum. We played. We threw beanbags into different shaped holes. We played blocks and dominoes.

We helped make cookies and we looked at the stuff in the jars. We ate the cookies. We only at one.

We played with wood and made shingles. It was fun. We got to bring them home.

We did a craft. We made pictures out of beans and seeds. Emanuel made a fish and Uncle Sean helped him make a smile. Gavin made a rectangle and a square. Zander made a sun.

Zander’s favourite part was eating cookies. Gavin’s favourite part was eating applesauce candy in the van. Emanuel’s favourite part was making cookies. Zander also liked the little wood house

The End

We also glued some more frames… this time using whatever colour they wanted. So that took the place of the colour experiment revisited I planned on doing today. Which is ok because it made time for the boys to do leaf rubbings tomorrow. Of course Ken spending half the day at the bank correcting THEIR error put a crimp in starting the insect lapbook. Apparently even with MY bill since it was HIM going in the teller decided NOT to put it through… wow UPSETTING!

So late dinner of leftovers tonight and big plans to catch up tomorrow. I am still feeling the remnants of frustration and a bit of sadness with the current reality we are once again thrown into. However, I am feeling truly blessed that Ken’s health is as terrific as it is right now! He is handling everything so well and is able to be a part of the family with a smile on his face (some of the time) and his temper in relative check. We are already light years ahead of where we were last time! I just need to keep reminding myself of that!

So I think what I need to do is remind myself that all this shall pass and trust in Ken. Right?

Do you remember the Winnie the Pooh story where it is a blustery day? That is what today brought to mind for me. I love that series of stories! Based on a Canadian bear that found itself in the UK no less.

So our day was a cool on – 9 cel – typical fall weather for this area except for the fact that less than a week ago we were faced with the heat of summer so we are rather un-used to it. But today was the free City owned attractions day so we bundled up for the weather (jeans, sweaters and a blanket for the baby) and off we went. Due to the fact that Nathan and Ada were still feeling under the weather we chose to head over to the pioneer museum – John Walter Museum. Sean met us there.

We managed to get there right at 10 when they were starting up, so we got to see preparations as well as the actual activities. We started off with a lovely lady in period clothing who had a bunch of traditional games for the kids to try – lawn snakes and ladders, bean bag toss… wooden blocks and a ring and stick toy among other things.

Trinity gave a wooden car a try from the safety and warmth of the stroller while her brothers tried out the wooden dominoes.

After a while the adults at least, started to feel a chill so we herded the boys over to one of the 3 houses. We actually started in the most recent of the 3 – John Walter and family’s final house build when he was at the height of his fortune (not too long after there was a major flood in the valley that wiped him out financially and he never truly recouped before his death 5 yrs later. Though his family lives on and does quite well!).

This house was gorgeous and had been restored (out of necessity multiple times as years back vandals through burning logs through the back half and destroyed a large portion of the house and some of the artefacts there in!), though the upper floor was not done up in period as it is used for events. Apparently towards the end of her lift Mrs. Walters had her bedroom in the downstairs level.

The stairs leading to the upper floor were narrow but gorgeous… the entire home had lovely wood borders and doorways! A definite favourite for Ken.

The wood burning stove in this house was also the fanciest of the 3 and put off a marvellous amount of heat. And the smell… mmm I love the smell of a wood burning stove!

The pantry was lovely – I so wish I had something like that here in my own home, a whole room off the kitchen and the sitting room – I LOVE the couch!

Our next stop was the middle house… built when John Walter got married and began his family (he had  2 sons). This house had a VERY low ceiling to its stairway! Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Walter were not tall in stature and he had built his house himself to suit! One of the guides there told us that he so loved the spot his original house was in that when he married and needed more room for the family he simply MOVED the other house over to build this one! What an endeavour! Of course build with his own lumber and the likes which is how he made a lot of his fortune!

In this second house the upstairs was made up in the original rooms. Small but quite a few!

And in the lower level in the kitchen was another guide baking COOKIES! We got there in time to watch her set up and get started on her first batch of oatmeal raison that she of course asked the boys to help with! First was measuring the things you could easily do with a spoon.

Then mixing….

Dealing with the butter…

Mashing…

And then washing hand in the freshly pumped water! Brrrr!

Then handfuls of raisons into the mix…

And the best part – forming the cookies by hand!And then into the oven they went and on we went to the final house to check it out.

Of course Sean and I tried the tea with fresh mint in it! The 3rd house was John Walter’s first… hand cut logs and all… and with the least fancy of the stoves.

Here we learned about wool and how to dye it and make it into a thread!

The boys were VERY intrigued when she explained that it was vegetables that made the colours! (even the big boys!) Beets for purple, onion skins for red(!), carrots for the orange and spinach for the yellowy green.

Apparently boiling the wool in vinegar for an hour before putting it into the colours made the process faster and more durable!

You couldn’t go upstairs in this house since it was a simple ladder but it was amazing to see where he started out when he moved out of the fort.

After we finished at the 3rd house we went across the wooden sidewalk to the carpentry display. There a lovely older gentleman taught the boys how to make their own shingles!!! We got to bring them home which made the boys’ day!

Then the got to try out drilling a hole the sloooow way.

And tried a yoke on for size. Gavin refused and we would have DEFINITELY had to shorten the ropes for Emanuel!

Sean tried his hand at plaining.

And we discussed carpentry methods and the relaxation potential with the gentleman before the boys remembered about the cookies and dashed off to ask the lady if they were done.

Talk about yum! I tried a piece myself – much sweeter than my own oatmeal applesauce but delish.

After cookies and Ken warming himself by the fire we headed over to the open fire pit where another guide had split pea coffee and bannock bread. While we did not try the bannock bed Sean and Ken tried the coffee – apparently even with sugar Folgers is MUCH better.

This of course had the boys back with the first lady and the toys! So Trinity and the menfolk and I sat around the fire and enjoyed ourselves while the boys did the same in their own way.

Before we left the grounds there was a craft table set up to try out. Here they had paper and chalk to draw a picture and then glue and seeds to pretty it up! Emanuel and Gavin went relatively simple – Zander on the other hand, decided to go with a sun! I think all 3 were happy with the results.

While this was going on a fiddler came over and played a happy song just for Trinity who was enthralled! Her first experience with a fiddler close up and she LOVED it! Though at this point we were all feeling the chill and about ready to go home for the day. Trinity passed out before Ken got out of the parking lot and all 3 boys were yawning!

Our afternoon was much less exciting. I took a nice long nap, as did Trinity and Emanuel, but AFTER my nap I finished TUX! Talk about cute! I am more than pleased at how it worked out. I am thinking I will offer a stitched version on 6×8 inch pieces of white 14 count aida cloth for 20.00 plus shipping costs. Though I am not for sure on the cost… it does take at least 2 days of sewing to make one on top of the cost of materials though. What do people think?

I am trying something new with our homeschooling schedule… last night I sat down and made a day by day list of the things I want to accomplish with the boys for the week. I think I have a nice amount for each day but this will definitely be our experimental week to see how it works out.

Monday

letter “U”, colour experiment printed out and discussed, shape song, start insect lapbook, nature walk with Ken, write a story about Sunday and illustrate

Tuesday

letter “V”, shapes and the words for them, continue insects, finish cover on numbers lapbook and add flap to extend to #20, glue painted puzzle pieces, review last year’s poems

Wednesday

letter “W”, start sorting out the colour and shapes lapbook, continue insects, review last year’s songs, learn a new song or poem, make either a new ornament or gift

Thursday

letter “X”, start sorting insects lapbook, continue finished shapes and colours and add projects etc if there is room, review numbers 1-10 and continue on, stamp an insect page for lapbook

Friday

letter “Y”, put together insects lapbook, finish cover on colour and shapes, start fall lapbook, fall themed craft (maybe leaf rubbing?), discuss more gift/craft ideas and maybe make Grandma’s gift

I am also planning a trip to the library for insect and fall books either Monday or Tuesday depending on time and starting work on the preK workbooks with Emanuel that Grandma and Mike brought him. With at least one trip to the park and if the the weather warms up using our free family pass to the Fort! Flexibility is still key after all!!

So a terrific day! I was able to leave my worries and concerns here at home and truly immerse myself in time with my family with is certainly my goal and a gift in an of itself!

This seems to be our weekend for changing plans basically last minute. Though today was not nearly as upsetting. We managed to have my mom and Mike head up to meet with us, Ken then went to get my Cousin David who also lives in the city as a University Student getting his Masters in Chemistry right now (he is the baby cousin on my dad’s side). We then met up with Nathan (who is repairing from the cold) and Ada (who seems to be a bit worse) and headed out to the farm that had advertised the 100,000 lbs of free potatoes.

We got there around 10:45/11 to find a massive line up of vehicles waiting… and people parking to make the km long walk to the farm. Definitely a deterrent when you have 4 small children and a double stroller with small wheels. This was definitely enough to turn us away – and away we went to H&W. This was a first visit for everyone but us and deals were to be had!

In fact, my mom and Mike surprised us and picked up the tab on our fruits and veggies – a great gift for our always hungry family! Included in the veg and fruit… 20 lbs of potatoes for around 6.00. Less than the cost of the gas we would have spent to idle waiting to get into the farm. Actually, after 4 hours or so they had to shut down anyway – all out! Thank you so much you two!

At  this point they and Nathan and Ada headed out to their respective errands and home and we brought Cousin David over for an extended visit. It has been AGES since I have spent time with my cousin and he is a blast to be around. Ken and him have a ton in common and he loves playing games with the kids and with our friends. Even Trinity who had not seen him in almost forever for her (like 5 months or more!) warmed right back up to him. Family right?

Supper was rather yummy tonight. We took the rest of a large chunk of beef we buy at the Real Canadian Wholesale place (really affordable you just have to cut it yourself – we slice steaks and save the ends for roast) and threw in seasoning, onions, carrots and potatoes into the slow cooker…. MMM no meat left but lots of veg and since we used beef stew seasoning I figure I will save all of that and throw in noodles tomorrow for THAT supper! YUM!

Trinity has been playing cute all day… with Cousin David, time with Mike (he and mom brought some surprises – more books for the kids, some clothes and dish towels.)… she has been in a rather great mood today!

There was another surprise in the front yard – the bunnies are back! While that does not excite Ken or myself the kids were enthralled!

Can You See??? (Zander left)

With severe wind warnings and the cooler weather today was a bit of a struggle to keep the kids occupied… we are still not out of the summer outside freedom mode yet. So today we brought out the playdoh and let them at it! Emanuel is getting much better at keeping it ON the table though we did have some of each of the boys’ colours to sweep up.

We had Sean, Ted and Alan over tonight as well for some games. The guys all played Settlers (a family favourite).

Myself, I continued work on my Tux. It is coming on splendidly. I also received my very first donation on the site from a good friend off Facebook who we did a conversion from an image to a pattern for her to stitch! (I am going to post that pattern once she stitches it out) What an amazing confidence boost  that someone appreciates not only myself and my family that much but my stitching and design… wow! Totally revitalises me to get a move on revamping my pattern page to be JUST a pattern page. I plan on moving my personal stitching to another section and focus on that one just being the free, donation and the advertising of commissions… and once all of that is done I will have my little brother spread the word a little (he and his wife have their own web comic!).

So though we did not go out and pick our own potatoes we had a good day… the boys were sad Grandma and Mike could not stick around but totally enjoyed their time with Cousin David. Tomorrow is the free city owned attractions day – the plan is the zoo if Nathan and Ada are able, if not, a pioneer museum. So we shall see!

Cuz Family ROCKS!