Saturday: by ourselves

Ben left this morning for a work trip and will be gone several days.  I have a few things planned for the long weekend, but nothing special.  After the first half hour I was lamenting the lack of plans.

But then we fell into a rhythm.  Isaac and I played a game while Joshua set up his bed for a sleepover tonight.  It turned into a castle, with a gate, draw bridge, and separate rooms for him and Grey Bear.  

In good brotherly fashion Isaac went to check it out and before I knew it they were playing some imaginary game.  It went for a long time!  So I cleaned out another drawer.  Before you couldn't find anything but I could fit a lot of stuff in, now you can find everything but I couldn't fit everything in.  So something moved to a different drawer for the time-being.  I did get rid of some stuff, but not in the amazing way that some of the other drawers have changed.  I probably don't need all the pens/pencils/markers, but there's no real reason to get rid of them right now either.  They'll stay around until the next round of decluttering.

The planned activity of the day was graham cracker houses.  While usually a Christmas activity, it just didn't happen this Christmas.  (Also, there were plenty of treats during Christmas and we didn't need more.)  Both boys are getting much better in their creating skills.  Tomorrow is candy day.

Mine.  Small, like normal, to maximize the candy:graham cracker ratio.

Isaac's.  A modern take this year.  He lamented that a half graham cracker isn't a square, which makes building a bit harder.  He also has a non-modern well.

Joshua's.  The main person to try and cut the crackers this year.  (Ben often does something elaborate, but was ok not joining us this year.)  While his roof will be a bit leaky, I was excited to see how he put everything together.  Although you can't see it yet, there's also a fireplace inside.

Friday: cleaning!

Wow, two good cleaning days in one week.  I've realized that some weeks are slower with fewer errands or outings.  Errands and outings are great, but they disproportionally hurt my at home productivity.  Especially the errands.  They always take longer than I expect.

I got my "try to do this" list done by 10:30 and continued to work on the oven.  I now have the outside of the oven and the back wall clean.  I'm hoping to use the oven clean function next week.  I also need to clean the inside of the lower drawer, but that's a cleaning and organizing activity so I'm considering it to be like any other door/cabinet.  You can only tell in a few places that the oven is much cleaner, but you can take my word that it is much cleaner.

Before:

After:

Joshua also saw a heart Lego set in the catalogue that we got recently and decided to make it for me out of blue, since blue is my favorite color.  We pulled up the instructions for the original and he did a great job making substitutions when needed.  We hung it in the bathroom.

Thursday: not much to report

There hasn't been much to report the last two days.  I've been normal productive.  Classes were taught.  The house is semi-clean.  We forgot Isaac's birthday treat so stopped by Meijer after school for some cupcakes that he can bring tomorrow.

Yesterday Joshua worked on a challenge that involved putting a stuffed animal on his head while doing a tower traverse.  He really got into it.

Tuesday: first day

Today was the first day of classes; they went fine.  The first day is not really that fun.  I also didn't sleep well because I was worried that the morning wouldn't go well.  It went fine.  I don't know why I was worried; we've done this before and I had stuff ready.  Just an annoying brain I guess.

Joshua joined me at bedtime because he was scared of his room again.  While I love it when he falls asleep on my lap, I also wish he didn't get scared at bedtime so easily.  (I think it also has to do with the book he listens to.  It really needs to be of the super not scary variety and those can be hard to find.)

Monday: cleaning

I got so much done today!  As with most days, I went into the day with a plan and feeling ambitious.  That ambition doesn't always turn into actually accomplishing as much as I'd like (and sometimes things just take longer than expected).  But it went the other way today!  Things took shorter than expected, so I finished up the try-hard-to-do list and added several more things.

As part of O:CtH I started working on the oven.  After the first ten minutes of cleaning the top of the door I almost gave up...the stain was just not coming off.  It came mostly off with the fourth cleaner, so while it took a while I was excited to see it finally looking better.  I also realized that a butter knife is ideal for cleaning the crack between the oven and the counter.  I'm not planning on cleaning the inside of the oven very well, but I did vacuum it and got several charred pieces out.  Sadly, I'm expecting to stay with the oven for quite some time, because I really only got the door finished today.  Maybe things will go faster than I expect.

Sunday: normal

It was a pretty normal day today and so not much to write about.  The church clay was almost stiff, but not quite, so the kids split colors and enjoyed having two colors at church.  It did eventually end up as a slightly lighter red, but it was interesting to watch the marbling in the clay as they worked it.

Saturday: kitchen

 Joshua made a fruit Pikachu today.  He decided to do it based on the cake.  

Friday: O:CtH

This afternoon I decided the only way I was going to get anything done was if it was 'fun' work.  So I cleaned one of the kitchen cabinets.  I decided to do the drink/spice cabinet.  I had done it a few years ago, so I didn't expect too much change, but I had gotten some new spices for Christmas and I wanted to change them out for the old spices.

In the end though, I got rid of so much stuff.  Probably at least 1/4 of the stuff that was in the cabinet, which was amazing to me.  The weird thing was getting rid of a few tea boxes, but I haven't been drinking tea lately and it's pretty old.  I also have two small boxes full of water bottle tops.  I put them in a few years ago and haven't looked at them since then, so I'm going to assume that I don't actually need them.  There are also some candlestick holders; they came with the house and I don't think the previous owners are going to care anymore. 

The saddest thing I am getting rid of are unopen but well used tea bags.  I had them in a different cabinet when Isaac was small and he found them.  They became a favorite toy but I kept them around because the foil wrappers had never actually been opened.  Since I'm getting rid of tea though, I decided I could take a picture of them and remember that way.

Thursday: errands

This morning was supposed to be a work morning, but it turned into an errand morning.  I got the oil changed, I picked up some auctions, dropped off some stuff at UPS, dropped off the compost, and went to the library.  Some errands were very fast and some were very slow.

I also went for a walk with Aunt C.  It was rather misty out, but we still had a lovely time.  We went to Ottawa Discovery Center to walk.  We found the birds of prey exhibit!  I haven't gone to ODC that many times, but I guess the times I have gone we've skipped the exhibit.  I thought it would involve a building that you go inside of, like nature centers.  So imagine my surprise when a Bald Eagle starts squawking at us!  There were two bald eagles and they were both quite vocal.  One made normal bird screeches and one...didn't.  

Anyway, I've never been that close to a bald eagle before and they are beautiful.  There were also owls, hawks, and a few other assorted birds of prey.  (FYI, most of the birds were in an accident and now can't fly or hunt anymore.  I think there was one that was imprinted on humans.  But none of them would survive in the wild, which is why they're here.)

Wednesday: wig

About a week ago I got pictures of the wig that was made with my hair!  It was my hair and hair from three other people.  And while I think the mannequin is ugly, I think the wig is really cute!  (Also, it's supposed to just be a partial wig and worn with a hat.  They're less hot and take less hair.)

Tuesday: last day

Today was the last day before the kids go back to school, which is a bit sad and a bit happy all at the same time.  We didn't do anything all that special, although we did go rock climbing and stayed a bit longer than normal.  I also tried to bring some returns to UPS and the line was about 5x longer than I've ever seen it.  While it would still probably only take 10 minutes, since I had two kids in the car I decided to come back later.

Weekend: family

Nathan and family came this weekend!  It was a wonderful weekend.  The kids keep getting older and entertaining themselves and sometimes it feels like we barely see them.  (Although, to be fair, we kicked them into the basement a few times because they were being loud.  You don't get to be loud in the main area.)

Friday: we worked medium hard all day before they arrived, but it did also include a nap and making some food.  Isaac finished his deviled eggs (all by himself!) and I helped Joshua with his Pikachu cake.  Now, we had gone to the library to try and find some easy dinner ideas that he could make by himself that sounded good.  What we ended up with with an involved dessert.  Oh well.  It was very good and I expect we'll make it again.

Saturday: in the morning we went rock climbing.  Nathan and Liz also tried it out, while I still haven't made it off the ground.  I did get to belay some adults though, so it was nice to do that for the first time.  Liz was no problem, but I did feel the weight difference a little bit with Nathan.  I was floatier than normal.  Isaac worked on the challenge wall a lot.

After lunch we opened presents!  Yay!  We all got some good ones.

Kate came by for dinner...it was nice as we haven't seen her in a long time.  We did a New Year's countdown around 9 and sent the kids to bed.  They were out quickly.  (Actually, they were out quickly the night before too.  Maybe they had had enough time to see each other and burn off some energy.)  Isaac stayed up both nights to watch the new Top Gun movie with us.  I just though it was ok, although the plane scenes were good.  I don't know if Isaac understood all the minor plot points.

Sunday we went to church to watch Pat play the organ.  She did a lovely job.

In the afternoon the kids made a wood craft with Dad.

After the three youngest went to bed Ben and Isaac taught Nathan how to play Magic: The Gathering.  I read my book.  I just started a new one and it is hilarious and excellent.  (Beware the Chicken!  However, it is based on an Eastern genre, and if you haven't read at least a few of that type it might not be as good.  Still funny, but some items might not make as much sense.  Thousand Li was the series I read first to help out with some of the background knowledge.)

Then, as always, they left the next morning.  While it's nice to go back to normal and not run the dishwasher twice a day, it's also always very sad and quiet.  However, there are plans to see them during Spring Break!

Thursday: productive

 I, as always, had several things on my to do list for today.  The boys did amazing during the afternoon 'work' time and we got more done than expected!  

The morning started with Isaac making a huge snow chair.  I helped with the bottom a little bit, but it was really heavy.  Joshua and I made a cake for his Pikachu cake.

Then some chores, an early lunch, and errands.  We went to rock climbing right away and while it wasn't too bad at first it got pretty busy again.  I guess we just need to expect such things during school breaks.

Wednesday: in between

We're in an in-between time right now.  In between the Christmas bustle and my brother coming up for the weekend.  (Joshua is beyond excited.)

So obviously, we started out the day with some games.  Isaac asked and I didn't have a good reason to say no.

I then got a bit of work done and we wrapped presents.  Isaac said the snow was good packing snow, so we went outside for a bit.  It really wasn't good packing snow yet...we probably should have waited until a little bit later in the afternoon.  We made a small snowman and slid down the hill for a bit.

After lunch and nap time we did our errands, but they were rather unproductive.  The parking lot at rock climbing was more full than normal and when I looked at the number of climbers it was the highest I've seen at 30/50.  Joshua and I went once at 25/50 and it felt very full, so we decided to try first thing tomorrow instead.  We stopped by Cheryl's to see if some late Christmas presents had arrived, but they weren't there yet.  We stopped by UPS to do a return, which was successful, as expected.

I used my electric knife to cut bread.  It was wonderful.

Joshua made a new kitty place out of a Christmas box.

I also got all the laundry cleaned and dried, although not sorted or put away yet.  I also took down some of the extra Christmas decorations that become a bit too much with more people in the house.  It's still very Christmas-y, but we needed a bit more space.  There are still a few things to do before we start the official cleaning, but we're close.  I only crossed off two things on the "do before guests come" list today, but at the same time I'm still feeling on top of everything. For now.

Monday: rescheduled Christmas party

The extended Hilldore Christmas party was tonight.  It was supposed to be on Friday but by Thursday they rescheduled - an excellent choice.  It was nice to see everyone in our annual get-together.  

We were allowed to be in the main entryway, and we told the kids this when we got there.  No problem.  Joshua had to go to the bathroom, and one of Ben's uncles was showing him.  When they reached the boundary Joshua stopped and said, "I'm not allowed pass here."  He was easily convinced he could go farther for this purpose, but it was cute.

Isaac and Joshua ran around and around and around.  Then two other kids joined them and they ran around and around and around.  I couldn't believe how much they ran, but they were having fun and with other people!

Ben and I ended up with a pair of very nice socks from the exchange.  Isaac quickly claimed them, even though they're way too big, and was super excited about them!

Sunday: the rest of the day

Today we spent a nice morning at home.  We didn't do anything too special, but finished a game, played some video games, and did whatever.  The snow drift peaked right before we left at 39" right at the stick.  By the time we got home the drift was down.  The drift seemed less steep, so the snow and probably fallen down.  (The picture below was from when I woke up and the drift was at 37.5".)

Also when I woke up I found a crazy scene by baby Jesus.  The Christmas Ruiners had come out and were trying to steal Baby Jesus.  Obviously, the animals were winning, but there was a fight!  One sheep pounced a Christmas ruiner and fell over, which broke its ear off.  The shepherd and the sheep's family brought it to the hospital.

The weather was good enough for us to travel the 10 minutes to Larry and Cheryl's house, but the roads weren't great.  It was nice to have a white Christmas with the snow falling gently in the background though!

Ben helped Joshua put the star on the tree.

We ate brunch first.  It was full of delicious food.  This is probably my favorite traditional meal of the year...I do like all the sweet stuff!  A few things were said that really tickled Isaac's funny bone and it was hilarious to watch.

The only picture I have of opening presents is my new electric knife.  I used it at Thanksgiving and it was amazing.  I'm going to use it to cut everything.  And maybe I'll even make a turkey.  (But I'm going to borrow the roasting dish because I really don't want a huge roasting dish in my house.)  The one I'm most proud of giving is some pie.  At Thanksgiving Scarlet said she had only ever had (or only could remember having) pumpkin pie.  So Joshua and I got her a blueberry and chocolate pie slice from a local bakery. 

The last funny thing from the day was that I asked Joshua to get me a fork at dinner time.  He gave me one, and I continued talking.  A few minutes later I picked it up only to find it was a gigantic serving fork!  It was nice of him to get me one, but Ashlyn was also kind enough to sneakily get me the correct kind.

Sunday: He's here!

Merry Christmas!  As always, the animals that moved around all of December looking for baby Jesus finally found him.

Saturday: Christmas eve

According to my camera, all I did was take pictures of the snow.   In the morning the stick measured about 31.5", but the drift had moved over closer to the house.  The top of that was close to 33". 

We had five blue jays flying around at one point.

It was a lovely day.  We played several games.  Isaac made chex mix.  Joshua wrapped presents.  Ben cleared the driveway (4-24" deep).  I helped with a lot, cleaned the kitchen, and dealt with food.  I was quite excited about how I could oversee the kids and get some stuff done all at the same time: they're getting more capable!

By this evening the snow at the stick was reading around 35".  If you measured the drift between the stick and window it was at the top of the stick, 40".  (You can see the stick in the picture below, but I angled up just slightly so that you actually could see it.  It's sort of under the corn.)  The drift to the left is higher yet.  The weather conditions were much better today.  It snowed most of the day, but I could usually see the houses across the lake.  Also, it's only about 12" or even a little less right by the edge of the deck.  There's a pretty steep drift right now.