tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15159865528057530252024-03-06T00:02:43.718-08:00The Urban AgrarianOur family's journey to becoming more self sufficient, whilst trying to wean ourselves from the modern agro-industrial complex. Envisioning a life with out high-fructose corn syrup, modified soy bean oil and GMO crops.nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16543852337030391527noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-62637168341560105122014-07-09T10:42:00.000-07:002014-07-09T10:43:03.122-07:00How NOT To Make Pancakes...
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How
<i>NOT </i><span style="font-style: normal;">To Make Pancakes</span></span></span></div>
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<img alt="Displaying 20140709_102703.jpg" aria-hidden="true" class="aLF-aPX-J1-J3" height="200" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=d6d505d181&view=fimg&th=1471c2b76096ba9f&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=1473172624445014016-local0&safe=1&attbid=ANGjdJ8QXapNDGD6xycc5eLYAv-Q_TI6ggDOhdN9iKVkj0C3IwfJ14DhjVRvBlPsAAXrpUOfoj1bkbDxzAG6M0pvy60s0xlBoMgAtJiNzsneHgzcNHI6hS3O6lR8aYk&ats=1404927604557&rm=1471c2b76096ba9f&zw&sz=w1742-h753" width="150" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Who
doesn't like pancakes? ... Well my daughter Ruby. Actually she likes
them with just butter but no maple syrup, she's weird like that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So
once again I was single parenting. Once again the kids were sick when
hubby was conveniently 'away working.' I'd spent the afternoon and
night on the couch racked with stomach cramps, interrupted only by
sprinting trips to the bathroom. ... Why is this book always about
poop? ....</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Elias
was sick with stomach cramps too. Ruby, two days previous, had had it
easy; fast and furious vomiting. Eli and I weren't so lucky. ....
Finally got the kids to sleep at 9:30pm. Hungry but not hungry I
tried to get to sleep, but couldn't. So I downloaded free 'tetris' on
my phone and played for 45 minutes, until I was interrupted by Eli,
'Need to sleep in Muma's bed.' .... And then a few minutes later,
Ruby joined us, along with the dog, and then a cat. I was already
unbearably hot and uncomfortable, but what's four more bodies when ya
really just don't want to be touched?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Long
night, continually disrupted by requests for glasses of water, or
covers or snuggles. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Eli
woke up early and watched show on my phone, but quickly fell back
asleep. Ruby and I got up at 8:30 am. Practically unheard of, the day
felt half over. But the stomach cramps remained so we took it
easy....until trapped in the bathroom with no tissue paper I called
for Ruby to rescue me by grabbing some tissue from the downstairs
bathroom... and she wouldn't. So, I did what any mother would
naturally do; started yelling that I would 'come out there and wipe
my bum on you, if you don't help me </span><i>NOW!'</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
screaming match ensued and Elias was woken up. Still sweating and
angry from Ruby and I's altercation I turned off the tv as
punishment. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Elias
was fevered and sniveling about pancakes, Ruby was jumping up and
down wanting the tv put back on. </span></span>
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“<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll
behave! I'll behave now!' She wailed.</span></span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mammaaaaaa!
Mama! Puleez can I have pancakes?' he cried, holding onto an empty
plate.</span></span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mum!
Mum! MUM! I MISS daddy!” Ruby cried, attempting to change her
tactics to gain sympathy.</span></span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
WANT PANCAKES NOW!” Elias, shouted over top of his sister's cries
to be heard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
dog cowered in the corner. I always wonder what the neighbour's must
think?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
on, and on it went. While I tried with my foggy brain and cramping
stomach to start making pancakes...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Got
most of the ingredients correct, except for twice the necessary sugar
– oops? And three times the needed baking powder – shit. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whatever,
stir it up, have kids fighting over stirring while I make sure that I
haven't forgotten anything. Tummy still cramping, brain still foggy,
kids still at 100 MILLION decibels...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Manage
to pour two pancakes into the hot pan; they meld together making one
big one. -Shit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fight
ensues over the one glass of water left on the table from last night
and who gets to drink out of it first. Get another glass, but it
isn't the same as the existing glass so no one wants to drink out of
it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pancakes,
super bubbly, baking powder foams and then deflates... Great, rock
hard, overly sweetened pancakes – yum!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Both
children still sniveling, crying and generally causing a
hullabaloo.... I slather butter on the pancakes, syrup only on one
and serve.... Elias devours his, Ruby says it's 'too squishy' and
wont eat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
pour the rest of the batter into the pan and realize I've just made a
GIGANTIC burning mess, that I can't flip, can't salvage and can't
eat. - Perfect. </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Everybody
still crying, sniveling, whining, and yelling I turn on the tv I had
already said they'd lost privileges too. -Fuck it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
fight over which show to watch and who's turn it is to 'pick' ensues.
... I ingore it, and the mess of the pancakes and start writing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Good
morning! Have a fantastic fucking day!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy
my book when it comes out!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">xo</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-12312215544673991582013-04-15T20:08:00.000-07:002013-04-15T20:08:02.783-07:00Bat houses, bird houses... Everything AND the kitchen sink!Another week in paradise! Too bad the flippin' weather can't make up its mind! <br />
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This weekend turned out to be both beautiful AND productive!<br />
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Kids and I had a nice day Frida puttering about the house. I managed to actually fold and PUT AWAY a week's worth all by myself. The rest of the house went to rat shite but hey, I'm only human!<br />
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Nick's Dad and Step Mum came over Friday night to deliver Elias' new big boy bed! Got him a double so that one of us could crawl in with him and the other have a good night's sleep.... so far the plan is only working so so... Ruby still manages to sneak in our bed! <br />
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He looks SOOOO tiny in the dang thing. I got all emotional making it and putting him to sleep. ....*sniffle* .... And then our 42 year old neighbour, bless her heart, had her third child this weekend and I have NO QUALMS about closing the 'baby' chapter in our lives. (Love ya B but NO thank you!) <br />
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Nick threw out his back cleaning the exterior of the RV trailer. Ladder broke from underneath him, as he leaned too far over. He didn't get too hurt but it was SOME shenanigans! Had another neighbour help us remove the canopy from the truck so as we can get some river rock and soil for the sailboat project.... if ever we get the money together! <br />
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Nick pressure washed the patio under the back deck for my 'Cabana!' SOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!! Then he made us some bird houses and Ruby and I spent a lovely afternoon painting them in the backyard while Elias slept and the Canadian SnowBirds ROARED overhead practicing their aerial manouvres!!!<br />
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I'm investigating some 'Bat Houses' as well. Bats are actually an INTEGRAL part of the eco system, but being nocturnal they are often overlooked and practically forgotten. Much like frogs, which numbers (like those of the bats) have been mysteriously decimated in recent years. Well perhaps not so mysteriously, we humans continue to destroy habitats and poison the ones we don't destroy leaving little behind for our fellow creatures. And then we find out usually too late that the species on the brink of extinction we actually NEED for one reason or another. Plus having a bat house just sounds freakin' COOL!<br />
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Now I know what some of you (mother and mother in laws) are thinking.... RABIES!... But you all need to relax.... Rabies is a virus carried and spread by many mamals including; cows (which live up the street at the dairy farm), pigs, dogs ~ we have one but she's vaccinated, cats~ have 2 they're vaccinated and the raccoons living under our shed. The likely hood of the bats (which are also mamals) contracting the virus is rare and the probability that myself or the children will ever touch a bat is like 0.1%<br />
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There are any one of three kinds of bats found in North America which may inhabit our 'Bat Houses' aka roosts. The information I've been able to gather from <a href="http://www.batcon.org/">www.batcon.org</a> indicates that on average it can take 9 months to 2 years for our bat houses to become inhabited. But the three kinds of bats in our region have the ability to individually eat up to 1000 mosquito sized insects per HOUR. So if you're having issues with mosquito's in your backyard, perhaps think about adding some bird or bat houses. Nature has it's own remedies, no need to look further than what options she already provides!<br />
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We'll have our work cut out for us... er... Nick will.... the dimensions of the roosts have to be quite precise for optimal occupancy. As does the temperature, colour and humidity level of the bat box. We may have to make 3 or 4 boxes and test them in different areas to see what is preferred. Because of our microclimate in the Valley I am unsure what will be necessary. The bats will want to remain cool in our warm summers but warm in our cold winters for hibernation, finding the ideal location in the yard which provides both will prove an interesting mystery. I have half a mind to contact some local wildlife resources for someone who might be able to come look at the yard and give me some intel.<br />
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I'm kind of giddy with this project! Can ya tell?<br />
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We'll definitely be adding more bird houses. I've seen some great plans on Pinterest for a row of 4 bird houses, on a pole but the neat thing about them was the back panel on hinges. Underneath was a piece of plexiglass and by lifting the panel one can view the birds nests inside without disturbing the birds. Pretty cool!<br />
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I've also seen on Pinterest ~ yes I know I'm an addict~ a Ladybug habitat!!!! Using 1 ft length of 4" diameter PVC pipe (painted brown or red), stuffed with some bamboo rods and twigs of the same length and suspended from a tree. I believe adding one or two raisins is essenial to attract them. Ladybugs are WONDERFUL little creatures helping to pollinate and eating the aphids which can decimate veggie crops, especially tomatoes.<br />
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I need to make a hummingbird feeder also. Several have come up to my kitchen window in the last week, leading me to believe at one point a feeder was hanging there. Hummingbirds have memories and return to food/shelter sources year after year.<br />
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Nick has been following our local farmer's market via their facebook page. From it we've met a woman round the corner with an AMAZING front yard. She herself blogs and has the facebook page <a href="http://www.lawntofood.com/">www.lawntofood.com</a> Well we technically haven't met her, but we'd LOVE too! We see her posts and walk by her house to the park all the time. From one of her posts Nick saw she had made an outdoor kitchen sink to wash veggies in... AND she had extra sinks! So we made sure to stop by and pick one up! Following her instructions Nick made a BEAUTIFUL sink! I'm THRILLED! Eventually he plans to run some copper pipe under the lawn 10 ft so we can have a spigget on the sink but for now we'll be just using the hose line. The water will then be recycled and used to nourish the veggie garden. UBER coolness!<br />
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For now I'm home with the kiddies... Ruby woke up with Pink Eye so we couldn't go to gymnastics. We'll just wait for Elias to get it and then we can resume life! We're enjoying the sunshine!<br />
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<a href="http://www.coveside.biz/chickadee-house-plans.htm">Bird House Plans</a><br />
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Other project on the list<br />
<a href="http://nz.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/diy/how-to/h/-/13819630/how-to-build-a-race-car-track-for-the-kids/#">Elias's Race Car Track</a> Should only cost about $65 and an afternoon!<br />
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<span style="background-color: yellow;">Please leave a comment I'd love to hear from you!
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The kidlets being 'goombas.'</div>
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Helping Daddy put together Eli's new 'big boy' bed.</div>
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Ok, excuse the language but that's some 'Redrum,' shit right there.</div>
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The beginnings of my 'cabana!'</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgvrv8hKA0Kd-6G7hFuyEovJ6Ap8rU3zALNS1IOXsngArZk321oBDljjO60ROTfvm5jaBnPIhFBr88ICgPKzHhUNsoZs-Zt0YSs5eG777fvACa9qIFzUXXtU_OhDqJHBhJ7Lj4FUQo4_G/s1600/2013-04-13+14.39.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgvrv8hKA0Kd-6G7hFuyEovJ6Ap8rU3zALNS1IOXsngArZk321oBDljjO60ROTfvm5jaBnPIhFBr88ICgPKzHhUNsoZs-Zt0YSs5eG777fvACa9qIFzUXXtU_OhDqJHBhJ7Lj4FUQo4_G/s320/2013-04-13+14.39.21.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The 'kitchen sink!'</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_h6dKDcQcHtlMjxFFDWa6rbXRfc9DWzXbzKT-tSdfEna3VXkf1I8lpPxgznNPrBKPV_hyphenhyphenSLr6v551kFCifONDgfNS1tUGKqzXTVHcJQO6iC1a8u8vLcqmQcQgdBcn3d1xTfB3oEtuJS3/s1600/DSC_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_h6dKDcQcHtlMjxFFDWa6rbXRfc9DWzXbzKT-tSdfEna3VXkf1I8lpPxgznNPrBKPV_hyphenhyphenSLr6v551kFCifONDgfNS1tUGKqzXTVHcJQO6iC1a8u8vLcqmQcQgdBcn3d1xTfB3oEtuJS3/s320/DSC_0106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hmm pics are out of order but I'm too lazy to fix it... this is the clean patio that hubby power washed! Ain't it purdy?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxf8Iq7XeF1cmjQXf5GhJ0Itr8VtI211HC8FAuvyB1nkkHZ423_7zYBn7fuThSvE33aS-1ImHo8gyIcch6UQdU1hx9c4xBgx61XBIdbw0HviBN3iZKhJ7ZkeXusxbe68OPD9_-pnonShm/s1600/DSC_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxf8Iq7XeF1cmjQXf5GhJ0Itr8VtI211HC8FAuvyB1nkkHZ423_7zYBn7fuThSvE33aS-1ImHo8gyIcch6UQdU1hx9c4xBgx61XBIdbw0HviBN3iZKhJ7ZkeXusxbe68OPD9_-pnonShm/s320/DSC_0109.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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Birdhouses!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFtQ-o49-GuQI8agPQBMJiY3m3xit1WaVbCZGTBKFoKGR6zYLXaAqzOKMJVqn6zpTWoZNaWMiforxy_bgYkiyalWl6cNCuXhEDz9ZxHT8vbNNop0t6mIiEj5NDR_If7-ibfkPPClrDI7c/s1600/DSC_0108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFtQ-o49-GuQI8agPQBMJiY3m3xit1WaVbCZGTBKFoKGR6zYLXaAqzOKMJVqn6zpTWoZNaWMiforxy_bgYkiyalWl6cNCuXhEDz9ZxHT8vbNNop0t6mIiEj5NDR_If7-ibfkPPClrDI7c/s320/DSC_0108.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFfFr5M_rFi5uJoO7dzmkhIcQPi_wb3fRFsAlHv9YkGMCdVzYC37aOpbj0Lsx7tUZZKURbm9Uhznf4UBF8n0TWU1qdpl1vxAFXWd1lvGpD8lak8lJ8BhVsvTXI0S8NelLjROCyA6pzKvF/s1600/DSC_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFfFr5M_rFi5uJoO7dzmkhIcQPi_wb3fRFsAlHv9YkGMCdVzYC37aOpbj0Lsx7tUZZKURbm9Uhznf4UBF8n0TWU1qdpl1vxAFXWd1lvGpD8lak8lJ8BhVsvTXI0S8NelLjROCyA6pzKvF/s320/DSC_0110.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cuteness!</div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-91973601904109292102013-04-14T21:33:00.003-07:002013-04-14T21:33:41.695-07:00Spring 2013 Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvjiYPul2zh_-1iEjOARWNoqSCa06q2soj7EdIotoXMFIvq4LpZyHXxnrwoEPHzHJf-pJjjaAV4oi3RNifL3Z87cN_9ms5qWgi3HxzA7RK0cHbOXoGpRbBFCE2ag_0E9bxFambGqb2utc/s1600/2013-03-16+18.10.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvjiYPul2zh_-1iEjOARWNoqSCa06q2soj7EdIotoXMFIvq4LpZyHXxnrwoEPHzHJf-pJjjaAV4oi3RNifL3Z87cN_9ms5qWgi3HxzA7RK0cHbOXoGpRbBFCE2ag_0E9bxFambGqb2utc/s320/2013-03-16+18.10.39.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Helping Mummy vacuum!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdEZiT16nDhTWnBH5P5oNdDCA6kO3mPg7Udmoybb7D2cxQlqfeszAtUP95LcsrPPPuaIKwtMgXvAN6uwy2b3LpK2Wp3zUPnbfkx3LY_MF4zkwF1uj62VMvzFRTCdxo0AFZi4FGur66q9N/s1600/2013-03-16+18.12.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdEZiT16nDhTWnBH5P5oNdDCA6kO3mPg7Udmoybb7D2cxQlqfeszAtUP95LcsrPPPuaIKwtMgXvAN6uwy2b3LpK2Wp3zUPnbfkx3LY_MF4zkwF1uj62VMvzFRTCdxo0AFZi4FGur66q9N/s320/2013-03-16+18.12.15.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FAVOURITE part.... emptying the bin!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-VjfR78-8fshmcFlbhR6jYOOsjVW3ZZIubffDdNVDl4MXxNa-0XGknZZwNDlYF69ZhZKoxWDyy1V0k9cDn8eVNi5ts0vJech1SJsWyl86FbYHLnZluTXSDQqMqGhwjF8CtozfzNDqHyl/s1600/2013-03-30+21.01.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-VjfR78-8fshmcFlbhR6jYOOsjVW3ZZIubffDdNVDl4MXxNa-0XGknZZwNDlYF69ZhZKoxWDyy1V0k9cDn8eVNi5ts0vJech1SJsWyl86FbYHLnZluTXSDQqMqGhwjF8CtozfzNDqHyl/s320/2013-03-30+21.01.47.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camping Easter weekend.... Gypsy found a new place to sleep.... her bum is on Ruby's bum....</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcEbcUhTZ7Zp1aVEKPcbUBTPDmpXFPMYTdPS2QIMA9ynD8MvyYmXbNw0EsIjE9KaC-3P0vtcayiBBBftfH9I9QOcSWduusPBedLYSjVDuJ8AxzGV7dUOJTMHoDs8Fdh9cnpl7fHtoZ1w0/s1600/2013-03-31+16.53.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcEbcUhTZ7Zp1aVEKPcbUBTPDmpXFPMYTdPS2QIMA9ynD8MvyYmXbNw0EsIjE9KaC-3P0vtcayiBBBftfH9I9QOcSWduusPBedLYSjVDuJ8AxzGV7dUOJTMHoDs8Fdh9cnpl7fHtoZ1w0/s320/2013-03-31+16.53.11.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egg hunt at Grammie and Papa's!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDtEQdzuXHLPzOX6K66hxeevtga04wiUNLBVml8PKMdW3_QOm7EQ4l7zXbDBxackNzTM4hrmhJCsMZsyraaFq5RlcM2WphBDlilhGQcD7QOZu-c0Ra6Q-MxjPDBqvqdRM3NHLCfXTe1CU/s1600/2013-04-02+12.13.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDtEQdzuXHLPzOX6K66hxeevtga04wiUNLBVml8PKMdW3_QOm7EQ4l7zXbDBxackNzTM4hrmhJCsMZsyraaFq5RlcM2WphBDlilhGQcD7QOZu-c0Ra6Q-MxjPDBqvqdRM3NHLCfXTe1CU/s320/2013-04-02+12.13.42.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being a 'goomba.'</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAGKIjFxCHwJh-UrTsgXXPkfuv5m44C6Xf68R6-BaNJPA3VB5eKB_7e4n7uL2WWBs09KSyyx6Q8vVR6fIB0ywC51RBacb42jkTxcWzyqgI6hJJk35uUz5frfKiFCa4l22O-jXde8mzF5e/s1600/2013-04-02+12.22.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAGKIjFxCHwJh-UrTsgXXPkfuv5m44C6Xf68R6-BaNJPA3VB5eKB_7e4n7uL2WWBs09KSyyx6Q8vVR6fIB0ywC51RBacb42jkTxcWzyqgI6hJJk35uUz5frfKiFCa4l22O-jXde8mzF5e/s320/2013-04-02+12.22.52.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More 'goomba~ness.'</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8cQ30nlVETVXsCZd_3v-tBM7CNYQUoig1-GWqRY430PEr2bZcrXBmE95pRzsn-_m0Dy5pvNMVEP-ehT4zklJBzknCkl3Q8HVxrOj8HUu_b2F60RIY5u9z8BlrDN5fc0i__BAZpXUw_u_/s1600/2013-04-03+08.51.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8cQ30nlVETVXsCZd_3v-tBM7CNYQUoig1-GWqRY430PEr2bZcrXBmE95pRzsn-_m0Dy5pvNMVEP-ehT4zklJBzknCkl3Q8HVxrOj8HUu_b2F60RIY5u9z8BlrDN5fc0i__BAZpXUw_u_/s320/2013-04-03+08.51.22.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bugs from Grandma Mo and Papa Dan!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRUE7GQ6bVdwjGQ1MVD3KHe9x2bzCnuuWKc4pPDYnV0Y4ywBMMCNa07Q1YHYyicmR_QtqQ6ACKEc50-LuevWQzMnzA_9pbgt8X_6Ewwhy-yndiEfvYPvQN6vkjAPmTJLU5mHDvugIUR_w/s1600/2013-04-03+14.16.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRUE7GQ6bVdwjGQ1MVD3KHe9x2bzCnuuWKc4pPDYnV0Y4ywBMMCNa07Q1YHYyicmR_QtqQ6ACKEc50-LuevWQzMnzA_9pbgt8X_6Ewwhy-yndiEfvYPvQN6vkjAPmTJLU5mHDvugIUR_w/s320/2013-04-03+14.16.49.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexican Dress from Grandma Mo and Papa Dan.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQ6SQPOvXy9C4g58WJDCUiIXnuI5OQiBKxBDm0zul0TypERy6mzgB6iR7TVvp9KmgtqzCDBQD_72HdXppBy7yYfKk4zr8R0qQq0s6begOL48_2vYRpvDGXaGQY2h7lt49qIlreHaafev3/s1600/2013-04-04+08.01.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQ6SQPOvXy9C4g58WJDCUiIXnuI5OQiBKxBDm0zul0TypERy6mzgB6iR7TVvp9KmgtqzCDBQD_72HdXppBy7yYfKk4zr8R0qQq0s6begOL48_2vYRpvDGXaGQY2h7lt49qIlreHaafev3/s320/2013-04-04+08.01.05.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breaky.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6G-qgDyCttMJBE6GoeMNDzfpdGHTHcl8B0_2fPQFUuKK4_wwa_FZNINQEMNc_yxpcuPpm8NXMZ51Bq6ftcPrYcPfKdfzYzEtPTk7u-adbg-T_IvGnO1dU72z92yrP10uqpFKCtK32KEZ/s1600/2013-04-06+07.49.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6G-qgDyCttMJBE6GoeMNDzfpdGHTHcl8B0_2fPQFUuKK4_wwa_FZNINQEMNc_yxpcuPpm8NXMZ51Bq6ftcPrYcPfKdfzYzEtPTk7u-adbg-T_IvGnO1dU72z92yrP10uqpFKCtK32KEZ/s320/2013-04-06+07.49.49.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First time eating Daddy's favourite ~ "Dippy eggs and soldiers."</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47u_pYtCwNWM_m0SUEoS3Kr0VNSAgYWaB46owd69p1xTR859sFxgRfU_FMmctdhh3DE8FLCMaD7dcpcRee-5WhRbwgo0sKCJvtzEqL885psk0ikIrvOWOhZ8LD2twQ4gvHPKOdPgZFdMU/s1600/2013-04-03+10.22.05-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47u_pYtCwNWM_m0SUEoS3Kr0VNSAgYWaB46owd69p1xTR859sFxgRfU_FMmctdhh3DE8FLCMaD7dcpcRee-5WhRbwgo0sKCJvtzEqL885psk0ikIrvOWOhZ8LD2twQ4gvHPKOdPgZFdMU/s320/2013-04-03+10.22.05-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swings while camping.... had the entire place to ourselves after Easter Monday!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KlqaADgb4LzLykcYHEyY4TPmJHJQcq6gjsyuQThqB4pzxl6mCrCf0prbIEKBW8_e9GiFqf7vxrNVoqTWXR2TfpFpISMULxOaEAkc7eIgTVydeW0jXwZWx-qTPrJQpMPKFLN3vq_zV7P-/s1600/2013-04-07+11.35.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KlqaADgb4LzLykcYHEyY4TPmJHJQcq6gjsyuQThqB4pzxl6mCrCf0prbIEKBW8_e9GiFqf7vxrNVoqTWXR2TfpFpISMULxOaEAkc7eIgTVydeW0jXwZWx-qTPrJQpMPKFLN3vq_zV7P-/s320/2013-04-07+11.35.33.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our family trip to MARS!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI77OuUjbR1sex-3AoQqsNTJzkW6YVih9PJ4auBp_UBCI6mq_TdNS95DsVyQIUYOrKbCuK-j0we1uj8ZlJT_dr_4DCptwTwcirHcv_r5lvl3l3Jw96xsSdRqRh9Bwc667gtQeaxuGD3dPA/s1600/DSC_0081.1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI77OuUjbR1sex-3AoQqsNTJzkW6YVih9PJ4auBp_UBCI6mq_TdNS95DsVyQIUYOrKbCuK-j0we1uj8ZlJT_dr_4DCptwTwcirHcv_r5lvl3l3Jw96xsSdRqRh9Bwc667gtQeaxuGD3dPA/s320/DSC_0081.1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'Mysterious' Pink Turtle</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-15173101216258858292013-04-14T21:05:00.001-07:002013-04-14T21:05:57.021-07:00Our trip to MARS, Strawbale Gardening and the 'Mysterious Pink Turtle'Celebrating our first anniversary in the Valley!!! So excited! April 2nd we moved in! One year later life is still good!<br />
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It was spring break for the kids. I was a bit concerned about how it would go, the kids being easily bored etc, but alas my heavenly father had other plans for me!<br />
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Sunday the 24th of March, the kids both came down with fevers. I then promptly rolled my ankle and Nick packed his suitcase... he shipped out first thing Monday morning. And I spent the next 72 hours glued to the lazy boy chair, kid on each knee watching Disney's 'My (freaking) Little Mermaid' 15 million times. AAAAAAAHHHH!<br />
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I don't even think I got a shower on the Tuesday! Managed to get myself dressed and shoot the kids full of IBprofen Wednesday to take them grocery shopping because the fridge was bare! Nick came home, I threw dinner on the table at him and the children and promptly left for an hour long dog walk just to breathe fresh air!<br />
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Thursday their fevers spiked to 40 degrees, and I was just plum lucky that the Dr was able to get me in as THAT was the very day they were moving offices!<br />
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Mother in Law arrived, kids were happy for the distraction and the hub of activity she is. I was grateful to get 5 minutes peace! Nick and I packed up the trailer for our first camping trip of the season!!<br />
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Poor Mother in Law got home Saturday and promptly came down with whatever the kids had. Sorry Nana! You never seem to leave without being afflicted with some ailment!<br />
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Easter Sunday down and my mother's house in Victoria! What a show! Truck was acting funny on the way down, before we even left I accidently broke a bloody cupboard in the trailer and it was just RIDICULOUS! But the cousins showed up, the food was AMAZING! Turkey, lamb AND ham! Grammie's famous 'Petite Pots Aux Chocolat,' Aunty Sarah's warm cheesy artichoke dip, Aunty Chantelle's TO DIE FOR, pineapple graham cracker pie whip thing. HOLY heck I filled my face and then felt awful for the rest of the night!<br />
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Ruby slept over at Aunty Sarah's and she and the cousins climbed Christmas Hill before heading back up to Chemainus to meet us for a weinie roast.<br />
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Spent the next two nights at the campground, surrounded by eldery people who adored my kids' antics as we were the only ones left in the park! It sure was nice to do NOTHING! Lots of family naps, movies, a trip into Chemainus where we were able to get Gluten Free pastries at a local bakery. I think my favourite part was just letting Elias navigate around the campground... he'd climb up into the golf carts of the maintenance men, go barefoot in a diaper on a 'walk about' and knock on random RV doors just to say 'Hello!' UUUUBER cuteness!<br />
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Ruby had an awesome time riding her bike down 'hills.' She's really very good at riding her 'Run Bike' which is essentially a bike with no peddles. Sit on the seat and push yourself along, at the proper speed lift up your feet and VOILA! Kids learn to balance on a bike, skipping training wheels entirely!<br />
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Nick's dad and step mother came for a quick visit over dinner to give the kids presents from their recent trip to Mexico for Nick's brother's wedding. The coolest gift was a mesh 'box' filled with 'bugs!' Kids have had an absolute BLAST with it!<br />
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We were booked in until the following Saturday but the forecast called for rain and being cooped up in a 23 ft trailer with two kids in the rain didn't sound appealing. So Grammie and Poppie, my mum and dad, brought up frozen pizzas for one last dinner and we headed home Thursday afternoon. Stopping in Nanaimo for me to pick up some fabric paint and stencil at 'Michael's' for my 'cabana' under the deck.<br />
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Friday we didn't do much, I did a flippin truck full of laundry, and went grocery shopping GASP ... alone!<br />
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Saturday I did a massive clean up of the trailer, lifted mattress' to vacuum underneath, scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed. And it is beautiful!<br />
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Today, our last day of spring break we took the family to MARS. <a href="http://www.wingtips.org/">www.wingtips.org</a><br />
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The Mountainaire Aviation Rescue Society's open house! Where the kids saw a wolf dog, horned owl, red hawk and more. I think my favourites were the ICU cabin where they had displayed yellow bath duckies in a bathtub filled with wood chips to simulate rehibilitation. A stuffed pelican with tinfoil 'fishies' under a heat lamp, and a stuffed white owl inside a cat crate with bandages on it's feet. Made for a wonderful, vigniette for the children. I also liked the craft of a pinecone 'owl' that Ruby made!<br />
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Came home and mowed the lawn and started some yard work...<br />
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Nick decided that the 'hugelkultur' bed wasn't going to be ready in time for planting. In hindsight we should have made the bed in the fall so it would be ready for this spring. So instead he has researched, purchased and now has our 'straw bale' garden well underway.<br />
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Here is the info<br />
<a href="http://anr.ext.wvu.edu/lawn_garden/straw_bale_gardening">http://anr.ext.wvu.edu/lawn_garden/straw_bale_gardening</a><br />
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Nick has used a 'Urea' Fertilizer, which I'm not thrilled about as we wanted to be organic and not used synthetic anything, but we couldn't source anything organic for under $200. He's pretty certain that it's made from horses urine but who the heck knows? It's 'high nitrate' fertilizer. Like I said, not thrilled but we're not made of money and I still can't find where to buy seeds for a 'moneytree?'<br />
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I think we plan to plant tomatoes on the top, but I'm unsure of what we'll be planting on the sides... can you tell who's the 'planner' in this household? Cause it sure as heck ain't Nick!<br />
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I have shown him a pinterest picture of using stair risers to hold rectangle planter boxes for my herb garden. Today he made me the seat I asked for, on the corner of the strawberry bed so I can sit with the kiddies.<br />
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Then he made the sunflower bed, in between the raspberries and the strawbale garden. Ruby and I planted the seeds that she'd started in her green house a few weeks back. Most had already started to sprout!<br />
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And then Elias woke up from his nap, I put them both in the wheelbarrow and had fun pushing them 'rickshaw' style around the yard while Nick used his saw. The pink paddling pool was lying in the yard. Elias discovered that not only was it an EXCELLENT hiding spot but he was also the PERFECT size to carry it on his head, turtle style!<br />
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I LOVE my kids!... But where did they get their weirdness from? ;p<br />
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Couple of small projects I'd like to do include a ladybug feeder and a racetrack for Eli. Should be fun!<br />
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The Strawberry bed, with new 'seat.'<br />
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Rhubard has taken off! The black pot was covering the whole plant just a few weeks ago!<br />
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Raspberries, starting to shoot.<br />
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Sunflower bed!<br />
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Strawbales overtop of the hugelkulture bed.<br />
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"Redneck" slide... woodpile has two uses! ...........................More pictures in the next entry!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-28090774013087047832013-03-18T20:50:00.000-07:002013-03-18T20:50:48.636-07:00Hugelkulture and bikini babesWhat an AMAZING weekend!!!!<br />
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Nick was supposed to be working more OT on Saturday so I made arrangements with some friends (Ruby's school chum) to travel down to Coombs and visit the Errington Wild Life Recovery Centre. <a href="http://www.niwra.org/">www.niwra.org</a><br />
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He ended up not having to work so he came along on our adventure...Met up with Ruby's school chum and had a BLAST! The weather was 'iffy' for a few moments but the kids got to see the resident black bear up close and personal, as well as, ferrets and a hawk named 'Emily.'<br />
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Then we headed up the highway to Coombs and the 'goats on the roof.' <a href="http://www.oldcountrymarket.com/">www.oldcountrymarket.com</a><br />
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Stuffed our faces with yam fries (which unfortunately gave Eli and I tummy troubles from gluten cross contamination) and ice cream. Twas a great day!<br />
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Sunday proved to be a GLORIOUS sunshiny day! ... Too bad my children didn't want to cooperate with us! Elias having tummy troubles and his bottom 2 eye teeth were swollen and poking through the gum line. He was MISERABLE. ... Like want to toss him out the window miserable! Managed to get him to play outside for a tiny bit, but then he was clingy again. When Ruby finally did come outside it was in a freakin' bikini in the middle of bloody March!!! At least it was 10+ outside but sheesh! At that point Elias took a face dive into the 4 inches of rain water that were at the bottom of the paddling pool. He had fun for oh 4 minutes and then FELL APART.<br />
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Shrieking, crying, screaming fell apart. As if it were <i>my</i> fault he chose to go swimming in flipping freezing cold water!!!<br />
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Gave hime a bottle and sent him for a nap. Thank the heavens he woke up happy, if he hadn't I was taking the dog for a <i>loooong </i>walk and leaving Eli with his father...<br />
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Nick and I got a SHITE load of work done! Strawberry bed and blackberry bed built!<br />
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Thought we were going to extend the raspberry bed another 12 feet but instead we've decided to put in thornless blackberries. Quite excited about this! Nick also had put black pots over top of his seemingly dead rhubarb plants and to my absolute amazement they have shot up! ... Now I think I've forgotten to get a picture of them... dang. Anyway he read somewhere that this method will 'force' the plant. How that happens I'm unsure. I wondered at it being a black pot and heat absorbtion to awaken the plants but Nick wondered if it was the darkness that awakened the plant to climb higher to seek light? I'll have to look it up. Still it was pretty freakin' COOL!<br />
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Which sort of leads me into 'Hugelkulture.'<br />
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How my husband comes across these bizarre yet interesting hairbrained ideas will remain a mystery.... he came across this link... <a href="http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/">www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/</a><br />
Needless to say I found it an interesting read. And bada bing bada boom, I find an 'Amazon.ca' package in the mail which contains Sepp Holzer's book on permaculture. ... Thanks for the gift honey!<br />
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So we took some ideas from this 'hugelkultur'.... after Nick cut and assembled the lumber for our new raised beds, he filled them with the left over stumps from last springs cut down maple trees. 98% of the wood he split and stacked but there were some that were too large or irregular to be used that way. So we buried them 'hugelkultur' style in the bottom of the beds. Then I had the brilliant idea of using all the leaves we'd composted in the front yard, I took about 8 wheelbarrows full and dumped them on top of the wood. Spread some mulch over, and it's ready for dirt and seeds!<br />
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Nick will have to fiddle with the blackberry bed as it had many logs and he feels like we should have mulched first <i>then</i> spread leaves, but I'll let him tend to it.<br />
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Looks like a few of my other plans are being sidetracked for the season. Life is funny, one minute your 'flush' the next broke? I don't get it, but whatever!!!<br />
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So we're going to put the green house on hold for this year. Nick said he didn't want me to use the canoe for the kids as he really wants to go 'portaging' but I've asked him to revisit this idea for 'realistic feasability.' Ahem.<br />
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I'll have to pare down my seed/plant order as well. *Sigh* ... REALLY WANTED my Lignonberry and Nanking Cherry Hedge as well as my Hardy Kiwi fruits but it may just have to wait another year. ... Freakin' KIDS! .... Needing to 'eat' and crap like that! ;p<br />
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Took Nick's bike into the shop to get a tune up and he's starting to cycle to work in another week.<br />
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Life moves fast and oddly slow when one has small children. But it was a GLORIOUS weekend! I can't wait for the nice weather to move in and stay!<br />
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Finished strawberry bed.</div>
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One fine day I'll put the male kiwi plant (which is foliage only) at the back of this stump. It should vine up and be quite attractive with some 'Fairy Houses' tacked in along the way.</div>
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On the right is last years raspberry bed, left the new blackberry bed. When in full foliage it provides a nice privacy hedge along the fence line.</div>
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My workin' man, blood hound and bikini babe!</div>
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'Hugelkultur' inside the blackberry bed.</div>
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View from the deck.</div>
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Hoping to be able to get one last raised bed before spring time and the money run out!</div>
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Another view from the back deck.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-43774924780422643222013-03-17T20:54:00.000-07:002013-03-17T20:54:39.956-07:00Teepee!Wow! Didn't realize that it's been SOO long without a post! In all honesty, not much has truly been going on! Hum drum, monotony of life with wee children!<br />
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I've been day dreaming about the garden as I always do, but it wasn't until this past week that the rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun did SHINE!<br />
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Kids and I had a GREAT week! I walked downtown in the sun twice and the kids and I spent two afternoons outside, in the backyard. It was FANTASTIC!<br />
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I think the best part was that they are now both old enough to be left outside for a few minutes while I tidy up without them underfoot! Now I have to keep the windows and doors open and read Ruby the 'Riot Act' about playing nicely but both of them seem to have a darn good time diggin' in the dirt! Apparently Elias thinks the mulch pile makes a great 'slide!'<br />
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Nick has been working mega OT, and while the extra $$ is nice, I get tired and irritable. The kids behave badly and poor Nick is bombarded by demands as soon as he gets home.<br />
"Daddy! Up! ... Tickle me!... Colour with me!.... Nicholas, I need this FIXED!....." Ce la vie!<br />
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Still haven't done any work on the green house, which is making me frustrated but I understand that he's really just TOO tired. So I sprinkled some grass seed with Ruby (it was interesting with 'help' from the three year old), I weeded the raspberry patch, aerated one section of the large veggie bed and planted spinach and swiss chard. And then I built my teepee!!!<br />
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Yep! Ruby also 'helped' with that project and it looks AWESOME!!!! I was at Canadian Tire and purchased 3 bags of 6, 6' bamboo rods, for $6.50 a bag. I only ended up using 2 bags, but I figure I'll use the rest for something garden related. The project took me longer than I had expected, over an hour I'd guesstimate, but it's pretty freakin' COOL!<br />
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I covered it with garden mesh as the pinterest site suggested, this makes it easier for the plant to really take over and give it the 'living' look. I'm hoping that it'll be wind resistant as we can get quite big wind storms living this close to the beach but I dug the rods 2 inches into the soil and then back filled them so I have enough 'good' soil to plant the cukes in another few weeks.<br />
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I just read on West Coast Seeds website that the danger of last frost is typically March 28th, for our region. So I've bought a 'green house' tray for $5 to get some of my more delicate seeds started early. I'll now start collecting my egg cartons to use as well. Filled with dirt the egg carton can start seeds, once germinated just cutting the 'pods' and placing them directly into the garden bed is an excellent way to recycle!<br />
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I'm also waiting for my mail order seed catalogue from TandT Seeds in Manitoba. I have researched high and freakin' low for Lingonberry and Nanking Cherry plants for my 'edible hedge' and was just about to give up when a random forum suggested this Canadian company. SOOO excited! They appear to specialize in 'hard to find' but easily grown in our climate plants.<br />
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Nick has cleaned up the wood pile, he has a few more afternoons of chopping and stacking before we're all done but we're well on our way. This week if the weather holds, I'll need to clean up the lawn debris from Nick pruning the apple and cherry trees. Gotta get ready for that 'first mow' of the season!<br />
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I've 'tilled' the remainder of the large veggie patch and transplanted the onions that were planted this past fall. FYI, onions are like icebergs...only 10% is showing on the top, the other 90% are under the surface. Learned this the hard way! Hopefully they survive!<br />
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I also planted some seeds in the 'green house' container I'd bought. But some of my seeds didn't look to healthy so I didn't fill up the tray. I'll wait for my catalogue and pick out some new ones!<br />
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We're going to take our trailer out for our first 'camping trip' of the year around Easter. CAN'T wait! While there is MUCH to do around the house and yard we need a BREAK! The routine with small children is VITAL but it is also draining. An odd double edged sword. Hoping to pack their bikes and just sit back with a GF Brewski and relax!<br />
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Life is good! Spring is nearly here!<br />
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The Teepee! ... Apparently 'Eli' proof! Nick saw him just 'reefing' (?) on it and was himself so impressed by its sturdiness he went to inspect it with a closer look.</div>
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Raspberry/Rhubarb patch weeded.</div>
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Bottom of the Cherry tree which I planted bulbs last November</div>
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Freshly tilled</div>
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Soon to be Swiss Chard and Spinach coming up!</div>
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Ruby's Greenhouse tray</div>
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Mama's Greenhouse tray</div>
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Grass Seed... instructions say to 'spread evenly.'</div>
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Ruby's contribution to 'spreading evenly.' *Sigh*</div>
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Hubby's Organizational skills! ... He impressed me!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-54239881631251933732013-01-23T21:00:00.002-08:002013-01-23T21:00:36.451-08:00Bring on SPRING!For those of you who don't know, I'm a total Pinterest ADDICT. My new inspiration is for the garden ~ of course! <br />
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I have a great many new but fairly simple plans;<br />
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Need to clean up under the deck, power wash etc so I can make a beautiful shady 'cabana.' I hope to paint the adirondak chairs a funky colour and hang some curtains for visual interest/sun screen. We took down some plain 'linen' curtains that hung in the bedroom and living room, and I've seen on Pinterest how to paint a funky pattern on them using a stencil and some fabric paint. All I need is the stencil and the paint!<br />
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Also hope to dig out a half circle of grass adjacent to under the deck, fill the hole with pea gravel and make a pretty spot for a fire pit. All I need is to hang our hammock and make an outdoor 'coffee table' from a pallet that again I'll paint or stain to make it funky!<br />
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Nick has found plans for a green house and he spent this weekend framing it up! YES people! After 12 years ~ he's finally handy! The frame looks GREAT! Just need to put some cedar planks around the bottom half (to keep kids and dogs from running through the dang plastic) and we'll plastic the top half ~ VOILA! I was SUPER proud!!! Next year we'll step it up a notch and purchase some corrigated plexi glass for the top. But one step at a time!<br />
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He's bought the wood needed to build the raised beds and on the next non rainy weekend he'll be out doing that! He's sore poor fellow but quite proud of this handy work!<br />
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I'm hoping to use the canoe was a garden feature too. Nick's Dad and Step Mum gave it to us years ago ~ but we never got the chance to use it and now with the kids I'm really too nervous too. .... Pinterest to the rescue!... Well sort of... I've been SO inspired by everyone that I got to thinking about the cabana etc that one thing led to another and PRESTO! ... How COOL would it be to use the canoe???? We could set it up to have both ends as gardenbeds but leave the centre so the kids could play in the 'boat.' Then I was chatting with my Mum and she suggested erecting a mast and putting up a 'sail' OMG! SOOOO exciting! Imagine ALL the wonderful memories they could make with a 'sailboat' in the yard? <br />
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Nick's handy work</div>
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My baby</div>
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LUNCH!</div>
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Just like daddy! Only he's sensible enough NOT to wear a bathing suit while working out doors in January</div>
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I also saw a great way to make a 'living teepee', using bamboo and sweet pea plants. Nick wants me to use cucumbers so that we keep with our 'edible landscape,' theme. So the kids would have a sailboat, a teepee, a slide, swings, a play house, a berry patch, a cabana, and a wadding pool. Now THAT sounds like some AWESOME childhood memories just WAITING to be made! ... And me, sitting in my 'cabana' in my neon coloured hammock with my book sipping sweet tea... YEP! Let's Get'er done!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-9931317864648788092013-01-23T20:57:00.000-08:002013-01-23T20:57:16.317-08:00New Years Company 2013!Ruby's first ski trip! ... Met my sister and her brood at the top of Mount Washington on December 27th! Such fun! I though I would have more time with my nieces and nephews but they were all in private lessons and lunch is included. So Ruby and I tried her hand at skiing. She was a bit gun shy as she always is trying new things.... Eli was with my sister in the ski lodge and I in my gum boots with double wool socks on, sweating in the wonderful winter sun helped Ruby 'make a pizza!' with her skiis. By the end of the first two runs my back was killing me, but she appeared to be having fun!... Although the fun sort of started half way down the slope ~ when she realized she'd soon again be riding the 'magic carpet.' ... A large moving sidewalk covered in plexiglass that takes you back to the top of the hill.<br />
We had a great time! I wish we could get back up there so Nick and I can ski and/or we take the kids sledding!<br />
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I think it was the 29th that our good friends the Nelson's came up to ring in the New Year with us... last year we were at their house but we ended up leaving early at 10 pm, because Nick and I were SOOOO sick! ... This year was our turn to host but the 4 of us barely made it to midnight as it was! Gosh I feel OLD! Kids and the dogs had a blast! We went swimming, I took down Christmas, we ate bacon wrapped pork tenderloin that Brian made us! It was relaxing and fun!<br />
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A 'girls' trip to Costco and we picked up some the necessary stuff to make 'fondue' for New Years Eve dinner. Kids didn't eat a bite, Brian ran out for chocolate and we stuffed ourselves stupid. By 9pm my stomach was starting to rebel! TOO much food! Too much cheese, chocolate and random delicious overindulgence! So we watched, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" staring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Shue. Despite the name it is a funny movie.<br />
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Nelsons had to go home but it was AWESOME as always to see them!<br />
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Nick was off to work but my younger sister Chantelle and her hubby and my wee niece Evie arrived on the 4th! Again we just took it easy, it was awesome to see Evie walking about and trying to keep up with my two! ... At one point mine were running circles around the kitchen and Evie was desperate to be involved ~ but NOT get run over... so as they came to circle her she sat down! Then she'd get up just as they were heading up behind her again!!! Had us in stitches!<br />
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Poor Ruby got the croup, tis the third time she's had it. Had to take her to Emergency but the Doctor said he'd seen it 5 times already that night shift. So we came home at 7 am with a sick baby girl. I was hoping my niece hadn't picked it up ~ and to my knowledge she didn't. ... But the 4 Brady's sure had a go with it! It's caused by the 'Paro ~ Influenza Virus'.... Nick left for a week in Victoria the week Eli and I came down with it. I WASN'T impressed. I LITERALLY spent an entire week in my house, sick, with two sick little kids for 5 nights and 5 days in our pj's... and me NOTsleeping!<br />
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The night time was AWFUL, they tag teamed me, one up and one down. The other up and so on. And of course during the day I couldn't for the life of me get them to nap at the same time so I was UP. We survived ~ but just barely!<br />
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The holidays slowed me down. We ate too much, drank to much, got sick and my waistline expanded. Ug. Oh well, Back to the grindstone! Back on the bike, taking kids here there and everywhere. Have a plan for some new low cal recipes and some exercise videos. We shall see what happens... wish me luck!<br />
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I swear she actually enjoyed herself!</div>
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New Year's </div>
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Ruby and her back up singers</div>
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What's a concert without a srteaker?</div>
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Mini count down with the kids</div>
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Playing drums with cousin Evie!</div>
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Croup....I put them together hoping to get some sleep...it didn't work</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-14222374759111008402013-01-23T20:51:00.001-08:002013-01-23T20:51:20.867-08:00Christmas 2012Hi All! Sorry it's been a while! Life gets busy!!!<br />
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Christmas was AWESOME! We had a blast... but we were sure fatigued from it all! Twas the first time in my 29 years that I actually cooked a Christmas Dinner. As most of you know I literally learned to cook this past spring when Nick said to me, "the children have to eat more than tuna fish sandwiches Kate." ... *sigh* "Really?"<br />
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But I spent the better part of Christmas Eve in the kitchen prepping what I could. Nick ended up assembling most of it Christmas Day so I guess I'll give him 40% credit, ok we'll bump it up to 45% because he helped me clean up!<br />
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That week started out as an adventure! ~ As always Murphy's Law the washing machine had to choke and DIE December freakin 23! Thankfully Nick was able to get online figure out how to take the dang thing apart, find the problem and call the local appliance shop who just HAPPENED to have the correct part! So Christmas Eve while I was slaving away in the kitchen Nick was slaving away, cursing his way through muck to get the bloody machine fixed! And he did it for $38! I was SO proud!<br />
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We had a great time making ornaments, icing gingerbread cookies and generally having a lazy couple of days! I did make a GF gingerbread house but it should have been assembled the day after I baked it, it fell apart the second day and I was unable to put the pieces together ... so I let Ruby slather them with icing and eat them!<br />
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I was just about ready to flippin' BURN the advent calendars my wonderful Mother In Law made (and fills the pockets up every year) ... between birthday, advent calendars and Santa Ruby is one SPOILED little brat! Ugg. It was a trying month! But we've gotten through it!<br />
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With the washer machine broken we ended up ordering Chinese food (which happens to be a childhood family tradition of mine) and the four of us ate early. Then we bathed up the kids, put them in their new UBER cute matching jammies from their Great Aunty Colleen (thankyou) loaded them up and went out to look at the twinkly lights. Kids had a great time. I felt the magic!<br />
Once home the work began, but we had fun assembling the toys!<br />
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My sister and her kids arrived on Christmas afternoon and brought with them appys.... and a one of my 9 year old nephews covered in car sick. YYYEEEWWW! Got him cleaned up and my own kids went WILD... Cousins = LIVE play things.<br />
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I had tried to get a hold of my folks ALL day to no avail. They had planned on spending Christmas at home (as my brother is single and they didn't want to leave him alone) having brunch with my bro and then heading up just after lunch. I finally got hold of them at 2:30 pm and they were surprised to hear that the highway was COVERED in a large dump of snow. Needless to say I was a bit perturbed and spent the next 4 hours a bit worried.<br />
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Dinner was on the table at 6 pm but they made it in the door at 5:58!<br />
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Dad was in rough shape from a gluten poisening somewhere along the line. So I convinced Mum and Dad to stay the night instead of heading the hour south to my sister's time share. It worked out for the best.<br />
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I think we stayed in our jammies for the entire day on Boxing Day! ... Well Nick got dressed briefly to go out and buy me this brand new Samsung Galaxy Tablet! Thanks Babe!!!<br />
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My folks too Ruby with them that afternoon for a sleep over with the cousins. The morning of the 27 we had plans to go skiing!!! It was an AWESOME Christmas week! ~ But next year can we just head to Mexico?<br />
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Cup cakes I made for Ruby's school party</div>
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Sugar crash!</div>
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Salt dough ornaments</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8lKnrJixKc/UPzMx23LwlI/AAAAAAAAC5U/PNS7s4_5SEs/s1600/2012-12-21%25252022.23.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K8lKnrJixKc/UPzMx23LwlI/AAAAAAAAC5U/PNS7s4_5SEs/s320/2012-12-21%25252022.23.20.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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My favourite shooter~ a 'Buttery Nipple' Butterscotch Schnapps and Bailey's</div>
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Decorating Gingerbread</div>
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Gf butter tarts, not my best pastry :(</div>
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Matching jammies Christmas Eve</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w3KCLnBPNXg/UPzOMELsMNI/AAAAAAAAC6c/8t0sdqL4lAs/s1600/2012-12-24%25252018.50.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w3KCLnBPNXg/UPzOMELsMNI/AAAAAAAAC6c/8t0sdqL4lAs/s320/2012-12-24%25252018.50.51.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Santa's snack</div>
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Christmas morning</div>
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Snow!</div>
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I'm not sure what this face is about!</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-87483847058627689512012-12-09T21:28:00.001-08:002012-12-09T21:29:33.309-08:00December Pictures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Eli's contribute to the Christmas tree decorating ~ a cookie!</div>
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Yep, Eli ~ passed out in the Costco grocery cart!</div>
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Ruby's new 'classic' pose. ...Where does she get this stuff?</div>
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My $8 SCORE! A microphone for her 3rd birthday! We've been singing along to youtube videos!</div>
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Plan 'B' Snowman Cupcakes</div>
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Behind the scenes at the new grocery store's loading bay!</div>
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See! I'm NOT exaggerating when I say I might suffocate in the chest high mountain of clean laundry! Folding party anyone?</div>
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Dang fresh air at the park! Wipes 'em right out!</div>
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This is one of my FAVOURITE photos! ... She pulled out this gold toule from one of the Christmas totes. I have used it in years past for a tree skirt but I have a new one... she couldn't resist being a bride! ... And what bride <em>doesn't</em> have a pet lizard named, "Albert?"</div>
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Gluten Free Homemade Chocolates with Nana!</div>
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Getting ready for her party! ... She wouldn't take off the socks Grammie had just knit her!</div>
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In Mummy's Cowgirl boots!</div>
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Princess Birthday Moment!</div>
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My heart is melting!</div>
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Puttin' away totes... er playing 'choo choo train' to keep the kids amused momentarily!</div>
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One gorgeous gal! Thank goodness Daddy has shot guns!</div>
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More of Mummy's cowgirl boots!</div>
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This one is an oldie from the fall... we were making wine and she thought it looked like a witches brew in a cauldron! Not sure if this is a repost but I don't care it's CUTE!</div>
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I have a couple of video's I keep meaning to post... we shall see if I get there!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-67536563961939695022012-12-09T20:50:00.000-08:002012-12-09T20:50:02.041-08:00Happy Birthdays!!!! ... No presents necessary, 'cuz I scrubbed a rhinocerosIt's been a while I think but life has been going FULL throttle the last three weeks! Nick and I are exhausted! Slight reprieve this week and then onto Christmas celebrations and clean up. Ugg ~ where IS that live in nanny/housekeeper when you need her???<br />
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Had a visit from my mother in law! She made chocolates with Ruby and they coloured and 'scissored.' She played cars with Elias and watched Ruby's swim lesson! But I was sad that we sent her home and she not only had her car break down but then got sick! SORRY Nana!<br />
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Also had a visit from Nick's Dad, Step Mum and Sister! They brought pressie's and danced with the kiddies. Granny made awesome 'pirate' hats out of gold toule. Ruby has enjoyed her play dough set emmensely! Thank you!<br />
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Nick went in for the big snippy snippy the last week of November. And was a TOTAL baby about it for days afterward!!! I of course in classic Kate style had ZERO sympathy. :) ... Yes that's right, zero, zilch, nada, niet. NOTHING, I pushed two water melons out a garden hose honey, so I'm not caring about your frank and beans one bit. Moving on...<br />
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As soon as he came home from the doctor's office he got sick with strep throat and Elias had an ear infection, so I took him to the doctor's office. Doctor confirmed the ears were red and then chatted with me about my options. He said, and I quote, "I'm not for or against treatment with antibiotics. Statistically speaking treatment WITH antibiotics lessens discomfort by about 12 hours, but that is all." <br />
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Ok, thinking in my head about the week Eli was born and Ruby was so fevered she couldn't sit up, her eyes were spinning in opposite directions (kid you not), she was speaking in tongues and vomiting bile. SCARIEST 'exorcist' shit I've ever encountered! NO exaggeration.<br />
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Elias was NOTHING like what Ruby had been through, so I opted <em>not</em> to use antibiotics and just wait it out. He had a small perforation in the ear drum which had allowed it to drain so he wasn't in a lot of discomfort. Thursday he was pretty much himself, Friday he napped with me for 2 hours. Then went down for <em>another</em> two hour nap...when he woke up he had green pus coming out of his ear!!! YUCK. PANIC! Emergency room! Second trip and he's not even a year and a half old. :S<br />
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Amoxicillin and fluids. Saturday night, he was still screeching and the sheer amount of drainage was frightening. Plus his nose wouldn't stop bleeding. Emergency Room Trip #3... Luckily we saw the same doc. Ear was 50% drained and the nose was bleeding because the skin had started to deteriortate inside his nose. Ya, treatment ~ try shoving vaseline up a 15 month old's nose 3 times a day! <br />
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But everybody eventually mended. House remained a dive bomb, and I was beginning to STRESS until I made arrangements for Ru to go to a friend's house after preschool. She was so CUTE! At first she didn't want to go. And when I pressed her as to why, she said, "I don't know.... do they have a bathroom?" SPLIT a gut! (Internally of course) I try very hard not to laugh at her most sincere insecurities! UBER cute though!<br />
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Was able to accomplish quite a bit with her out from under foot and was excited to see my folks who were coming up to celebrate!<br />
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Ruby's birthday was the 7th. I took the kids on a 'field trip' with our local toddler group, we went and toured the new grocery store. We looked at all the different fruit and the fish monger took out a crab and lobster to look at. Then we went in the back and Ruby was SUPER excited to see the cardboard get squished in the compactor! We were given a Gluten Free Ginger cookie and then we dashed over to the local golf course to see the gingerbread house display! 'Twas FUN! Ruby did a 'scavenger hunt' and had to find the 5 pictured items in the sea of gingerbread houses. She had a blast! <br />
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Quick trip to Costco for party food ~ Elias fell asleep in the buggy, I'll post a pic. Home to get started on the cake! ...My mother in law had borrowed from her sister a stand up teddy bear cake. I researched decorating ideas on the net and found a great snowman.... I rolled out the fondant for a black top hat. Carefully read all the instructions on using the pan, made cake, then made MORE cake because I didn't have enough to fill the pan. Let it cool, and took off the mold, only to have the cake inside the 'head' part not be cooked and so the whole bloody thing fell apart! ... And then I fell apart. ... My parents arrived a bit late to a DISASTER! I had used <em>every</em> pot, pan, spatula in the kitchen. I'd exploded a bag of icing sugar all down the fridge, I dropped just about everything I touched all because I was stressed and <em>tired. </em><br />
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Finances are tight, with 4 birthdays <em>and</em> Christmas this month. The truck needing fixed and the bill being OVER the quote by a whole trucking lot! Sheesh!<br />
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Plan 'B' .. I used the snowman cupcake tin and then iced the damned things at like 11 pm. They turned out great! The party was AWESOME! She had SO much fun! Thank you to everyone who came!<br />
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Nick and I went out for dinner that night as his birthday is the 10th. He took me out for Vietnamese 'Pho' which is basically a soup, spicy if you like. He ordered the 'hot and sour' which I liked better than mine although mine was equally tasty in a simple broth with rice noodles, thinly sliced beef, scallions, sprouts and some fresh basil and lime. Then he bought me an ice cream from McDonald's and we went on a quick wine tasting at the new beer and wine store along the dyke. We ended up getting home before Ruby went to bed because we were both just SO exhausted ~ but it was nice to get out all the same!<br />
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Sunday Mum and Dad went home. But they had brought up a desk for me to paint on ~ which I am THRILLED about! Ruby missed them as soon as they left :(<br />
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A 'new' concept I'm supporting right now is the 'no presents necessary' theme.... The last few birthday parties Ruby's been invited to have stated 'no presents necessary, just come celebrate with us!' on the invitation. I made sure a wrote the same on Ruby's invitations. We still got a few presents for which I am thankful for but in all honesty it truly wasn't necessary. I feel like we live in this world of extreme <em>excess</em> and unnecessarily so. Why add to it? Ruby doesn't <em>need</em> anything and most of her friends are much the same ~ arent' we lucky and blessed to be able to say that? What better way to teach our children about the value of friendship, good company and the awesomeness of 'wholesome' parties, than to just dress up nice, play with the <em>mountains</em> of toys we already have, eat copious amounts of cake and give out a goodie bag too? In essence, "It is better to give; than to receive." I like this new 'theme.' I'm going to stick with it!<br />
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And the rhinoceros you ask? Well I was scrubbing the bathtub like I do every week and that includes scrubbing the bath toys.. nothing more <em>rank</em> than scuzzy bath toys in the tub that your children chew on.... We have very <em>limited</em> amounts of bath toys because I dislike them. Well I dislike stepping on them, tidying them, scrubbing them ~ you get the drift. But whatever makes it there I clean and alas there was the rhinoceros. I couldn't help but catch the oddness of the moment as I'm scrubbing this toy rhino's arse I thought to myself, "I wonder how many people in this world can actually say they've scrubbed a rhinoceros' arse?" Anybody?.... LOL! Let me know! I'd LOVE to hear that story!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-9223846322105874182012-12-02T20:50:00.002-08:002012-12-02T20:50:33.588-08:00Do I really demand too much?For the third time this year an acquaintance has gently reminded me that I demand too much of myself. I find this odd. ... Do I? Do I really? .... I am shrugging my shoulders, as I know no other way to be.<br />
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Life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Those in my most inner circle know that I'll gripe, and whine, and snivel, cry, sob and dry heave in existential wonder before I'll make the lemonade... but I still just make a sour face and do it.<br />
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Would I LOVE to have a handful of children? Yes. Do I LIKE having to give up my car and hop on a bike 4 times a week? No. Do I LIKE having a husband gone 50% of the time? Yes er No, er sometimes? LOL! He makes such a mess!<br />
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But in all honesty I just don't know how to not do what I'm doing. I try valiantly to get the kids out of the house for an activity EVERY morning, Monday through Friday. We're only out from 9-11:30, so we can make it home for lunch and Eli's nap. But I find that if I <em>don't</em> take the kids out, the house is just that much more of a disaster and the kiddies are BORED. I'm BORED and they're underfoot and things go sideways...<br />
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So yes that means I'm up before 6 am, showered and flipping eggs before 7am. Kids dressed and out the door for 8:40. <em>Sometimes</em> I can get the beds made and/or the dishes in the dishwasher before we leave. Most often NOT. But I don't stress about it anymore. The mess will be there when I get home and no one ever drops by spontaneously...mostly cause I don't think I know that many people in town yet!<br />
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I make lunch, tidy up the kitchen, put Eli to bed and try and play with Ruby for a half hour before I get started on some other household project/chore. <br />
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Yes, I have a schedule on which chore gets done each day;<br />
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Monday ~ Gymnastics in the am, swimming in the pm, empty garbages and recycle, vacuum downstairs<br />
Tuesday ~ Preshool for Ru, Diaper Gym for Eli, Walk the dog, Garbage to curb, clean bathrooms<br />
Wednesday~ Library in the am, swimming in the pm, sort laundry, scoop cat box, vacuum upstairs<br />
Thursday ~ Preschool for Ru, walk dog, pump through laundry and play with Eli at home<br />
Friday ~ Put laundry away, vacuum whichever room is disastrous<br />
Saturday ~ Family time! Scoop cat box, play with dog, finish whichever chore I never started....<br />
Sunday ~ Is a tricky day, either we're on it and so we can relax, OR we're scrambling to make up lost time!<br />
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Other than that I attempt to wet dust, clean window sills (it rains here a lot so mould can grow if one is not careful) and wipe out the fridge once a month.<br />
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Heck if I'm able to scrub out the fridge, dust the fan blades, and vacuum behind the couches twice a year I think I'm doing pretty good! No?<br />
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I don't spend too much time watching tv, there is never anything good on anyway. Plus I LOATHE commercials. I am addicted to facebook, which I'm making a conscious effort to only check twice a day... it's not going so well. I'd LOVE to read more, paint more and sing more. Even take an exersize class or learn to play an instrument. <br />
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I don't know, I just feel like I can't go to sleep at night knowing I wasted a day. Don't miss understand, when we don't make it to the library, I don't sweat it, I just pull out a craft for Ruby to do.<br />
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Or on days like today when both my guys are on antibiotics and Ruby woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I danced to Christmas music in my jammies until well after noon. Mainly because no one could stand not touching me for whatever reason. ... So there I was, hair all floppy from sleep, breakfast, snack, snot, pus, blood, apple juice and Lord knows what else crusted on my nightgown, but we danced because my kids needed me to dance. <br />
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Eventually I popped in a 'Rudolph' DVD and was able to sneak away for the 10 minutes I needed in a shower. After that I fed them lunch and when Nick came home I tried to put Elias down to sleep so I could start cleaning up the breakfast dishes at quarter to two .... but my baby wiped his nose on my shoulder, coughed in my face, smiled a sleepy grin and nuzzled his head into my neck, while his chubby hands clutched onto my arm. ... So I drew the blinds and crawled into bed with him for a nap! It was heaven!<br />
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When I woke an hour later, I sent Nick down for a nap. Ruby and I played with play dough she was given for her birthday. It's just before 9 pm and the house is finally in some sort of order, I'm still in snot covered clothes but my kids know they are #1. And that's the only way I know how to live.<br />
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As a question of general interest; does anyone else (after a day like today) realize just before bed that they haven't actually been out of doors? In that moment I panic and get a sick feeling in my stomach, so I send the dog out to pee and stand on the back deck in the darkness breathing two gulps of fresh air before I end the day. The peace of mind it brings is neurotic I know, but I never said I was anything but weird. <br />
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xoxoxAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-67545494955776149132012-11-25T22:39:00.000-08:002012-11-25T22:39:39.419-08:00Family time.... Decisions, Decorating and DollarsOctober was a rough month! House insurance, truck insurance, truck needing repairs, vet bills.... and on and on it went! GACK!<br />
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So Nick has been pulling overtime this November like nobody's business, just trying to make sure we don't fall behind. I've been on a strict budget, buying nothing but the essentials... Mrs. Freakin' Frugle! Uggh!<br />
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And of course Christmas is coming, Ruby's Birthday, Nick's Birthday, and the new year which means paying for more extra curricular activities... which means more $$$$$$$.<br />
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After tallying it all up I'm paying $480 per month for preschool, gymnastics and swim lessons. SHEESH! I make sure to do as many 'free' things as possible like the library or Strongstart. But HOLY COW! These kids are expensive!<br />
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I've always wanted three kids, I still want three kids. I have NO desire to be pregnant again any time soon. In fact I am enjoying rediscovering some freedom and my thinning waist. So Nick made the "Executive Decision' to go in for the big 'V.' aka 'Snippy, snippy.'<br />
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I thought it was a bit premature myself but then I tallied up the monthly expenses and have realized that the quality of life I'd like for my children would be diminished if we keep adding to our brood. It does not however curb the bittersweet sadness that I'm feeling as tomorrow's procedure approaches. I am sad that I didn't slow down and enjoy the kids more,as babies. <br />
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With Ruby I was too afraid to enjoy her because I wanted to make sure everything I did was, 'right.' And with Elias we had so much additional emotional trauma happening, the uncertainties made it impossible.<br />
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And so I am sad. In the thick of it one feels as if it will go on forever, bleary eyed and just surviving through each day. And then just as suddenly it's all behind you. Not 'over' as the children are simply in another chapter of growing, but the baby/toddler days flew by far too quickly. The snuggly, delicate, 'can't be put down '~ 'don't WANT to put you down my angel'~ days I wish I could relive. But alas I cannot, so I am learning to enjoy each and every minute. To let the laundry sit another hour while I read books, or colour or paint, or play with trains and cars. I learn not to care that I make the beds only to have people follow me from each room wrestling and flattening my freshly fluffed pillows. <br />
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I am encouraging the wearing of the Christmas Tree skirt as an 'invisibility cloak,' and trying <em>not</em> to sound exasperated when my Ruby girl asks for me to bring down the Party Lite Christmas Church one more time so she can peak at the candle inside... Life is GOOD! It is rolling along too quickly and costing more money than we thought we'd ever spend! Nick jokes that I spend it faster than he makes it ~ which isn't far from the truth these days!<br />
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So we find fun 'free' things to do. Like exploring the Lazo Marsh and feeding the wild birds by hand. Or standing out in the cool weather watching the Christmas Parade. <br />
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Can't wait for her 3rd birthday. She picked out the invitations and handed some out to friends at preschool. We went to the dollar store and found some great crafts and gift bag stuffings for the party. Nana Brenda brought up a 'Bear' cake pan, which sits up just like a panda bear. I'm thinking I'll ice it like a 'Care Bear.' Only a few more weeks until her school 'concert.' And then Santa! Slowly getting the house decorated, the ages of the children now only add to this magical time of year. Here are some photos!<br />
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Outside the Library</div>
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Reading the library books at home ~ clothing is optional there.</div>
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Gettin' ready to play outside!</div>
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UBER cuteness at Ruby's Diner! </div>
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Playing with her favourite cherry tree.</div>
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Wonderful plastic top hat!</div>
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Bollywood Princess!</div>
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Cousins sleepover!</div>
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My late night solo dinner while Nick was away</div>
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SWOON!</div>
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Frosty is mesmerizing!</div>
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MOvember!</div>
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Lazo Marsh</div>
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Look closely at Ruby's hand</div>
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First Courtenay Christmas Parade!</div>
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First Candy Cane! ... This was the best pic I could get </div>
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Unicycle!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-6243289870885339952012-11-25T21:33:00.001-08:002012-11-25T21:33:32.493-08:00This Time Last Year...This time last year was actually quite a dark time in our lives. I haven't thought about it in a while, so much light and love surrounds us now that it is easy to forget. <br />
<br />
We were told about the inevitable move to Comox in October of 2009 shortly before Ruby was born. In July of 2010 we were told to expect a letter from the Coast Guard detailing our move. The letter never came, but we held out hope. In December of 2010 Ruby turned one and we thought we'd be in Comox shortly so we got pregnant again with Elias in January 2011. But the letter never came, and never came. <br />
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I became distraught with an ever growing belly that we'd be stuck in Port McNeill in an already too small house with two kids, two cats, a dog ~ and a partridge in a pear tree! Still things got worse. My health deteriorated, I ended up with Gestational Diabetes and a toddler in tow. The letter <em>finally</em> came in June of 2011 but it did not state what I had hoped. Instead of saying we'd need to be moved with in 90 days like a 'usual' transfer letter stated, our letter stated we had 5 MONTHS before our reporting date. <br />
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I sobbed, Nick was gone away and my only tangeable saving grace was that my parents were visiting when I got the letter. And the stress began as we had to get the house ready for selling. My belly grew bigger, the summer got hotter, my health deteriorated along with my sanity. I was DESPARATE to get out of the 'too small' house and get closer to my family, my support network with my due date looming I spiraled into emotional distress. <br />
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I was nearly eight months pregnant, up on a ladder at 11pm at night painting the freakin' kitchen, "Toasted Almond," sobbing and trying not to huff in paint fumes. It was awful. The worst part was knowing that as the summer progressed and we had NO showings of the house, I would have to bring another baby home to that too small house, far away from the safety net of my family. It was almost too much to take. But I kept hoping that someone would come and want to buy the house. And then the verbal back and forth of moving our reporting dates added more uncertainty.<br />
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We brought Elias home on a beautiful late summer day. I am blessed to have such an easy going child, but then just about any baby could be considered more easy going than my Ruby girl! <br />
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Back and forth, the uncertainty of our reporting date held us in suspense. It was unbearable, but the letter we had, the <em>only</em> piece of paper we'd been given said we were to report to Comox December 13th 2011. That date was FAST approaching. I was trying to raise a toddler, a brand new baby, two cats, and a dog in a 2 bedroom house of 1058 square feet and keep it as immaculate as I could just 'incase' someone wanted to stop by for a viewing at the last minute. It was insanity.<br />
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And then the next letter came. Our reporting date had been pushed back to June of 2012. I couldn't breathe. <br />
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With my brand new son in my arms I couldn't breathe. I looked out the window, there were whitecaps on the waves. Looking into the greyness of the stormy sea and felt more despair than I had ever felt in my whole life. I couldn't even speak to my mother on the phone, all I did was pass it to Nick so he could explain. <br />
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Life was as bleak as it had ever been and I had to protect my two innocent babies from seeing Mummy be affected by the bleakness. I searched my soul. I clutched at my faith, I knew not what I should do.<br />
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At that very low point I think Nick silently understood that my psychy would never withstand another dreary winter on the north island. He suggested an extended visit to the south. But we pondered together what the logistics would be. And then as if by God's hand himself I had an ephiphany... My parents had an empty basement suite. Yes we retreated back to where it all began 10 years earlier. We'd first lived together there and would return. Some might say with our tails between our legs but I prefer not to look at it that way.<br />
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I feel like it was a tactical manouvre to retreat; collect our strength, rest our minds and nurish our souls within the protection of family before we embarked on a potentially frightening 'unknown.'<br />
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And so we packed up our truck. PACKED it to the rafters, kids, dog, basinette, stroller, baby swing, suitcases, xbox, computer, camping table, kids toys..... we hired a housesitter to look after the cats, who was herself in need of a place to stay while she sorted through her own 'unknowns'. Down island we headed, back to where it all began. <br />
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We moved the double bed from my parent's upstairs guest room down to the suite, along with the tv from that room. My best friend gave me a crib/toddler bed she no longer needed for Ruby, as well as a futon for the living room couch. Elias slept in the bassinett. We'd brought our own kitchen table, made a make shift change table, and ran a line for the dog out the back. The second or third day we were there Nick and I headed downtown to Value Village and bought an entire 'kitchen' for $50. Cutlery, pots, pans, plates, mugs, cups, can opener, knives, cutting board, mixing bowls etc.<br />
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I know more than a few eyebrows were raised, as we'd moved from 1058 sq ft, to 750 sq ft. But it was worth it!<br />
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We arrived in the first week of November and stayed until the last week of January. We celebrated Ruby's 2nd birthday, Nick's 30th Birthday, Christmas, New Year's and my mother's birthday. Both myself and then Nick, came down with a terrible virus that made it look like we'd gargled with battery acid. Nick came down with pneumonia and was on antibiotics for a week. It was hell, but we were home with people we knew loved us and would look after us. Nick's mum Brenda brought us cooked meals. My sister took Ruby for a few days, my mother took Elias while I napped. With their help, I could forget for a while about what lay ahead. <br />
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We borrowed from my mother and set up a Christmas tree; making ornaments as craft projects with Ruby. We found all her presents from 'Santa' that year from a daycare which was closing out. <br />
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The new year came and we knew we would have to face reality. I remember Nick's step mother having to physically put me in the passenger side of the truck. I was dry heaving, sobbing, snotting and grasping for sanity. It was a very dark and scary time. <br />
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Once home, I had a renewed sense of optimism, I was going to sell my house or burn it to the ground! We started marriage counselling and simultaneously started advertising the house on facebook with serious vigor. <br />
<br />
We arrived home on January 23 / 2012. I had friends graciously offer to host my family for an ENTIRE day while I held an open house on Feb 4. Only one couple came. And on February 8th they made an offer. <br />
<br />
February 23 we made an offer on our house in Comox. We arrived back in Comox on March 23rd and got possession of the house April 2nd. <br />
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Life is an amazing ride! I wouldn't change any of it for the world!<br />
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Yin and yang....one must experience the darkness in order to appreciate the light. I am blessed.<br />
<br />
<br />
"Sometimes lost in the current is where you need to be; to find direction when lost at sea." ~unknownAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-36488682925124240902012-11-06T12:51:00.000-08:002012-11-06T12:51:24.512-08:00Garden Pictures and Next Year's Plans/Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Shed, compost, wood pile... the blue tarp is hopefully arresting 'photosynthesis' and killing of the foliage so that I have a fresh new plot to put in my 'edible hedge.'</div>
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View from the middle of the yard looking east</div>
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Midday sun on a bright fall day! </div>
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The strawberries, never bore fruit but managed 3 shoots for new plants!</div>
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The raspberrie plot... never paid attention so it was a surprise for me that the leaves turned yellow before falling off. Lesson? Stop and smell the roses ~ or notice the beauty of fall before it passes you by!</div>
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Hard to see for the fallen leaves but this is our 'berry patch.'</div>
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The grafted apple tree.</div>
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Plum tree in the foreground, the white tarp has the mulched up ferns underneath it. Gave myself tendonitis for a whole WEEK using the machete. In the spring we'll bulk up the bed with fresh soil and add strawberry plants.</div>
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New grass!</div>
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3 Little maples gone! Plans for a trellis and grape vines!</div>
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Have to mend the fence but the plan is a chicken coop!</div>
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Along the house I'll espalier some fruit trees, the trellis had a rose but I dug it out and we'll put in a Hardy Kiwi tree.</div>
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Fun with Dad ~ Rakin' leaves!</div>
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(Holy CRAP she looks like my mother in this picture!)</div>
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"Hey Nick!" ... "You call me DAD." ...."Hey BABE!" ..."Noooo, you call me DAD." ....."Ok Nick." </div>
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If you look closely you can actually <em>see</em> the exasperation in his expression! Tehehe!</div>
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This is a picture of the trellis I'm envisioning.... it will go along the south east neighbour's fence where the 3 small maple trees were just dug out. I had hoped for a pergola (which is this trellis just doubled width wise so you can walk through it) but I think it would shade the garden too much and cost is out of reach at this point. As it is I'd ideally like this model but 10 -12 ft high and to run 30 linear feet (if Nick doesn't kill me) to provide a nice privacy screen from the neighbour's yard. We already have a large wisteria that will quickly take hold of a structure such as this, and we'll add grapes at the other end behind the plum tree. Only question is whether Ruby will leave any [grapes] for us to make wine with or will she eat them all?</div>
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Nick's project!!! Ok <em>my</em> idea but his project! ... We've always wanted to upgrade our hand-me-down resin patio table and chairs but even in the off season, 'end of stock' sale a nice 6 person set can run upwards of $400! And really how long do they last? Seat cushions to replace or like my poor parents a winter storm actually broke the glass. I'm not sure if it was already cracked or if a heavy branch fell on it but it smashed but good. So I did some research and this, although it looks fancy schmancy is really a simple to moderate skill level, weekend project. With pressure treated wood and an all weather varnish it'll last practically <em>forever!</em> </div>
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Nick has some other plans for a garden bench with an arbour, a potting table that doubles as an outdoor bar.... And eventually we'd LOVE to rebuild the gate by the shed. Best to start simple and work our way to some cool projects!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-53076926591532958322012-11-02T19:29:00.004-07:002012-11-02T19:29:50.635-07:00Fall Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At the pumpkin patch in Shamrock Farms!</div>
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They have an AWESOME display of Halloween, with witch and cauldron, captured fairies, eye balls in jars, scary ghosts etc! It was an excellent show! And Ruby wasn't scared not even a bit!</div>
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For $.50 a cup you could feed the chickens... Ruby WAS afraid of them.</div>
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"Yes, a bottle of milk please, shaken ~ not stirred."</div>
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Watch out people!</div>
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Me and my kiddies!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_C6dltoVkl2SZs_JfFj_pa2EOILyVV9efPQGL1FYJeeXNp-iSWDmrGvAaRBO53jkFgmwpNLG0DoQzT__WBrVXtv9d_QqXyYdb3tE4zqq112pk7Qz2b-sCePMOoxYcJyaw7gm_1T7VYg9U/s1600/2012-10-12+11.40.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_C6dltoVkl2SZs_JfFj_pa2EOILyVV9efPQGL1FYJeeXNp-iSWDmrGvAaRBO53jkFgmwpNLG0DoQzT__WBrVXtv9d_QqXyYdb3tE4zqq112pk7Qz2b-sCePMOoxYcJyaw7gm_1T7VYg9U/s1600/2012-10-12+11.40.00.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Eli loved the animals!</div>
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And if given the chance would have ridden a chicken.</div>
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Helping pull the wagon!</div>
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Mini organic orchard apples ~ YUM!</div>
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Ruby's wall FINALLY painted pink!</div>
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Eli's black eye. He fell in the tub, split it open and there was blood EVERYWHERE. Massive Mummy freak out, trip to the ER but stitches were averted!</div>
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Mummy's mistake, Eli's fun.</div>
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My 'naked chef!'</div>
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Who needs toys when a Costco box will do?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFvZL87-aDDBerBojl89LuDW57NLvX0HtpaS_DyMX_ow-m_5afoOZdeL3jcyJ1ylW1NsmDsJfOl8nL5YwupYEKjcehyvsRGAbA2uYrQP-rieXNhRIfcXtSt923t83QsQ5HVmElMcT94IU/s1600/2012-10-23+18.17.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFvZL87-aDDBerBojl89LuDW57NLvX0HtpaS_DyMX_ow-m_5afoOZdeL3jcyJ1ylW1NsmDsJfOl8nL5YwupYEKjcehyvsRGAbA2uYrQP-rieXNhRIfcXtSt923t83QsQ5HVmElMcT94IU/s1600/2012-10-23+18.17.46.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bathtime goomba!</div>
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....but is it <em>legal</em> to leave them while I go out?</div>
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Needing a cuddle 'cause he was snuffly, so he brought me Billy his Goat.</div>
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Halloween Preschool Party!</div>
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The GF Cupcakes I made!</div>
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My 'Yoda Towel Bandits'</div>
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Ruby's Halloween Costume... I scoffed at paying the $25 for it not realizing that it had fiber optics and lit up. In the end it was worth the money!</div>
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Our pumpkins!</div>
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Good use of Nick's drill!</div>
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Eli 'helping' me unload the dishwasher.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-37580460149825525452012-11-02T19:27:00.001-07:002012-11-02T19:27:29.749-07:00HalfWell life just keeps truckin' along! And it only ever seems that I'm able to get things 'half' done. *Sigh*<br />
<em>Half</em> the laundry cleaned, <em>half </em>the laundry folded, <em>half</em> of it put away. <em>Half</em> the kitchen cleaned up, <em>half </em>still dirty. <em>Half</em> the bathrooms cleaned, <em>half</em> the dusting or vacuuming accomplished. Half, half, half! <br />
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Such is the life of a mother of two small children I suppose! At times I can laugh about it, sometimes<em> </em>cry but mostly I just stand in the middle of the room and rip out my hair with one child running circles around me and the other snotting on my freshly cleaned jeans. <br />
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Hopefully you've seen the pictures I was able to finally post... again I really narrowed it down to about <em>half</em> of what I wanted to post but time is always a crunch! That being said I've decided to close my Facebook account so that I don't get my time sucked into the vortex of the cyber world. <br />
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Although still exstatic with our house and enamoured with my children the daily grind of <em>half</em> time single parenting is beginning to take it's toll. I'm much of the time, <em><u>lonely</u></em>. And despite meeting some great new friends (parents of Ruby's preschool friends) we're all busy at different times and thus don't get together near as often as my heart desires! <br />
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The truck needs two ball joints replace at a price tag of $1k which we simply don't have so driving is restricted from the highway meaning I can't go visit family! So the loneliness prevails as the days grow darker and longer :(<br />
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Halloween was fun despite Nick not being here. He did send his Mum Brenda to help me which is always appreciated! She brought up some chili and corn muffins! She was SUPER happy to be able to travel up and see our new nephew Kane born the day before Halloween to Nick's younger brother Adam and his fiance Elyse! Haven't met the little gaffer yet but pictures show him lookin' like his Daddy!<br />
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Brenda arrived and the work began! Dinner at 4:30 so that we could get into costumes and start knocking on doors for just after 5. I'm amazed I'm not freakin' skinny at the amount of time I spend running and sweating after kids..... But we did it! Ruby was a witch and Eli a skeleton. He could barely walk and couldn't get up after falling over as I had to put his snow suit underneath his costume ... giving him the 'sumo suit' effect. Brenda and I howled!<br />
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It was peeing rain outside but I threw the cover on the double stroller and off we went! We really only did 10 houses but it was enough for the age of our little kids. There wasn't really anyone out due to the weather. As soon as we reached the last house (our neighbour's) Murphy's Law the rain stopped! Oh well! <br />
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Ruby was HILARIOUS having to stop after almost each house to weigh the buckets and make sure they were even! God FORBID Eli has more than she! <br />
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Ahhh. She is cute.<br />
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Nick is here, there and everywhere, so I just keep them home fires burnin' until his long awaited return. He was home last weekend for a few days before he was off again. But in the time he was home he took on the project of reorganizing the pantry. He's taken all our items and put them into labelled mason jars. It is PERDY!<br />
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We also managed to bottle the red wine which we had made from a kit and put in the carbuoy under the stairs in our ahem, 'wine cellar.' It tastes delicious! I was truly surprised! In the next free weekend we will be doing the same with the white wine and in December with the much anticipated rhubarb wine!<br />
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Still have a few things to do outside before the really cold weather sets in. The maples shading the garden were dug up and taken away once I'd advertised them on Facebook. Hopefully we'll have the funds in the spring to build the pergola, which will allow light while also providing a bit of privacy from the neighbours. <br />
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I have to say I am <strong><em><u>EXCITED</u></em></strong> for Christmas! This will be the first time Ruby really has any understanding of what it is about. I'm just dying to start playing Christmas music but I suppose I'll wait until at least the middle of the month! LOL! Should be fun decorating, and I have lots of ideas. I've even purchased some children's books from Scholastic about the 'true' meaning of Christmas with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Am excited to read them to the kids.... it reminds me of a fight we used to have growing up .... when decorating the Christmas tree we'd always have a brawl over who got to put the 'baby Jesus' ornament up on the tree. LOL! I swear Mum finally got the good notion, when packing up<em> after </em>Christmas to write on a paper napkin taped to the ornament, whomever's had put up the ornament <em>that</em> year. Although we'd always try and swindle her into believing that the name meant whomever's turn it was <em>next</em> year! She was rarely ever fooled! Let the fun begin!<br />
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For now we are simply enjoying the beauty that is fall. All the leaves are vibrant red or brilliant yellow. Our front yard is littered with leaves. Nick has plans to rake them all up tomorrow, I'll put the kids in rain pants and out we'll go to frolick in the piles. The simple things are life's little blessings!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-72859410482256080852012-10-17T13:30:00.000-07:002012-10-17T13:30:07.012-07:00It's been a while......rambling of a scattered mind, chickens aquaponics and other thingsSorry it's been so long since I posted on here! I won't get into everything that has happened, as I am sure Kate has kept everyone up to date.<div>
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October is here and zooming along. The onions and garlic need planting. The beds need mulching. the firewood needs to finish being split..... so much to do and so little time!</div>
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Anyways, I ramble.... the plan for this weekend is to get enough of the maple rounds split and stacked that I can build a second <a href="http://the-urban-agrarian.blogspot.ca/2012/05/yard-photos-great-urban-agrarian-take.html" target="_blank">compost bin</a> so that I can turn my compost over. I also need to get the onions and garlic planted. We had planned on doing a bigger winter veggie garden, but time seems to have gotten away from us.</div>
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We were thinking of sneaking in some backyard chickens, but seeing as they are against our current bylaws, I think we will wait until the <a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/12/running-a-fowl-of-the-constitution/" target="_blank">ruling</a> as to whether or not keeping chickens is a charter right. In the meantime I have been reading into building a green house in the spot we were thinking of putting the chicken coop.</div>
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Now here is where the ADHD works at its finest..... you start with chickens, and end up with trout. Let me explain. First off I was looking into chicken coop plans. From there I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to go to the effort of making the chicken coop only to be fined or told to remove the chickens. From there it was a logical step (in my mind) to fill that unused space (have to remember to measure it) with a green house, because then it could get use all year round. From there it was only a hop, skip, and a leap to decide that said green house should be used to house an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics" target="_blank">aquaponics</a> system. Voila! You get trout from chickens.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theaquaponicsource.com/images/NEW.Aquaponics%20Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://theaquaponicsource.com/images/NEW.Aquaponics%20Icon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://theaquaponicsource.com/what-is-aquaponics/">http://theaquaponicsource.com/what-is-aquaponics/</a></td></tr>
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I am having trouble finding any information on people or systems that have been set up in my area, so I plan on gathering all the information I can and posting it on the blog. Hopefully I can convince the wife that this will be a good idea and use of space. I think the idea of a lemon tree growing in the greenhouse MIGHT have some effect.</div>
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cheers for now.</div>
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nick</div>
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nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16543852337030391527noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-52548226953158425772012-10-17T13:02:00.003-07:002012-10-17T13:02:40.782-07:00I LOVE crock! (Pot Cooking that is....)<br />
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Sorry it's been quite a while since I've posted but life is just zooming along ~ taking me with it and tiring me out! <br />
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The weather has finally turned and I think is here to stay. It doesn't bother me too much as I do LOVE the fall and this year is a bonus with our elongated summer and then the lovely disiduous trees. I know it seems a bit odd but after spending nearly 7 autumns up island where there is only coniferous 'evergreens' it is heart warming watching the leaves turn colour and fall to the ground. Everywhere I turn there are bright and beautiful oranges, yellows and reds. The neighbour's maples are turning and the fallen leaves litter my front yard! I LOVE it!<br />
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The kids and I had a FANTASTIC time on Thanksgiving weekend gathering up the leaves into piles and running through them. Then I'd through them in the air like confetti and they'd squeal with laughter and delight! It was such FUN!<br />
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Thanksgiving was an amazing weekend; the weather was HOT, Nick had to work overtime so I was largely on my own with the kids. But the cousins arrived on Saturday and everyone was in t shirts during the afternoons. Can't remember a Thanksgiving so hot?<br />
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Nana ~ Nick's Mum, came up on the Friday to keep us company for the night while Nick was working. She and Ruby had a blast crafting and playing with puzzles.<br />
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Our family supper on the Sunday was a FEAST! My Mum and Dad brought up a cooked Turkey and Ham, my sister made all the veggie sides save for the brussel sprouts'n'bacon dish I made. I then I made those two pies, sweet potato and caramel pecan pumpkin... wouldn't you know I <em>forgot</em> to take any pictures! Sorry! But we did set up two picnic tables in the early evening sun, dressed only in long pants and light jackets and we all feasted until we could eat no more! I put the gravy in my tea pot, my sister had brought chaffing dishes to keep the food warm while we ate. Dad had brought up the turkey ~ cooked in a disposable aluminum foil baking dish and then transported in a large cardboard box which at one time contained a 'jack' for lifting up cars. ... LOL! I know but it kept everything warm for the hour long ride to get up to us in Chemainus! Don't worry the 'jack' was brand new!<br />
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The pies were made by my oldest niece Julia and I. GF pastry turned out well! It cannot be rolled out so I just press it into the pie plate as uniformally as I can. I LOVE the sweet potato pie, but I found the caramel pecan topping on the pumpkin pie TOO sweet! Now if you have a sweet tooth it's incredible but I prefer savoury on my palate!<br />
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Home again and the fall weather has set in. But the rides in the morning while cold haven't been too terribly wet yet ~ thank heavens! I did get called a 'Triple Threat!' the other day by a fellow rider! I had the dog with me and she commented, "Dog walking, exersize and saving the environment!" I replied that I was also 'saving money' and she changed my title to, "Quadruple Threat!" It made me smile!<br />
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Ruby is doing very well in school and making fast friends! She is now able to stand at the 'waving window' as soon as I drop her off ~ no tears! YAY!<br />
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Mostly I go home and tidy up or play with Eli, but yesterday I decided to take him to 'Strongstart' a drop in program at elementary schools (province wide) it is free and for children aged 0-5. Tuesdays they have a volunteer who puts together a 'circle time' specifically geared towards children under 2. Well if Elias didn't just think he'd died and gone to heaven! He was so overwhelmed he kept doing circles in the middle of the class room, unsure of what to play with first! BIG smile on his face! He of course gravitated to the baby 'buggies' and pushed one around the room for a while, then we got into the cars and trucks. There was also a 'tactile' station filled with dry dirt, spades, buckets and fake 'food' to plant etc. He made a mess but had fun! Story time, he stood up in the middle of the room and danced as the leader was singing her songs! Gym time and he RAN, and RAN, and RAN as <em>FAST</em> as his little legs would carry him!!! Bit the dust a few times but got up with a great big smile and kept on truckin!<br />
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My plan backfired though ~ I was hoping he'd sleep at home a nice LONG nap but instead he passed out as soon as he got back into the bike trailer. We picked up Ruby and by the time I'd made lunch my legs were jelly and my own eyes could barely stay open but the kids we're rarin' to go! The house a disaster and I just couldn't get off the couch ~ but I'd ridden up and down 3 separate hills! Nick came home and took the kids down to the play room so that I could tidy up. I started dinner and he finished it for me as well as tidying up the kitchen ~ thanks babe!<br />
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Garden is nearly all ready for winter. Have a few more things to do, which Nick will try and accomplish this weekend. I think at final tally we harvested near 60 lbs of tomatoes! And I had to give some away as we couldn't eat them all! <br />
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SO many plans for next year, I keep having to write them all down so as I remember them. For now I continue to save my plastic milk jugs for two reasons; firstly half filled and tied to fruit tree limbs the weight will train the limbs to grow down and outwards ~ thereby creating more 'open' space between the branches letting in light and air. Secondly cutting off the bottom of the jug and placing it over some seed starters creates a cheap and easy green house with which to start seeds.<br />
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Our list of 'to do' is forever growing but we were actually able to accomplish quite a bit this last weekend. My mother in law aka Nana aka Brenda, came up for another visit bringing; a hat for Eli and goodies that Grammie (my mother made), and a boat load of 'activities for the kids from puzzles to recipes. Ruby had a GREAT time crushing up cereal to make GF 'chicken fingers!' We went on a trip to Shamrock Farms and picked out some pumpkins! I was able to finish up reorganizing and rearranging the toy room ~ so it is now UBER cool to use in the wet weather! I also painted Ruby's bedroom wall pink! And she helped me plant some spring bulbs out front. ... It is a crap shoot as to them surviving but we shall see!<br />
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Elias made his first trip to the ER too! Oh yes, Saturday night and he was in the bath, he ducked his head to avoid getting shampooed and managed to hit the side of the tub at such an angle that he split open his eye lid and it BLED EVERYWHERE! And of course I did what I do best ~ I screamed bloody murder, flipped out, crying hysterically. Nick nearly smacked me! But he put the car seat back in the truck, put my cell phone in my purse and turned on the heat heat while I put Elias in his jammies and then headed to the hospital. We had to call in a favour from a neighbour to bring us a bedtime bottle which I forgot leaving in such haste. Stitches were narrowly averted! Doctor said she was, "...of half a mind <em>not</em> to put in two stitches because it is already knitting together nicely. It's in a fairly protected spot so it shouldn't reopen or get too dirty. As for scaring..." I laughed out loud ~ she was a bit taken a back, but I explained, "You should see my husband's face - I'm not worried about a little scar!" So home we went and he has a nice shiner.<br />
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Ruby ~ using scissors her father left out on the counter~ cut her hair RIGHT in front of him. I had a few choice words to say. It is noticeable when her hair is up in a pony tail but thankfully isn't too big a chunk. Still swearing and cursing and FOAMING at the mouth about this one dear.<br />
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Life just keeps humming along! We are anxiously awaiting the birth of Nick's brother Adam's first child! Due in the first week of November. Then it is the birthday season followed closely by Christmas. And more birthdays. <br />
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What is saving me from sheer insanity some days ~ MOST days~ is my crock pot! It makes life SO much easier! I wasn't raised on crock pot cooking because my dear Mammy has an aversion to food that quote 'touches.' Yes, I know. But honestly I had NO idea that casseroles or crock pot cooking even existed! It has opened up a whole new world of cooking possibilities! I have a few food blogs and facebook pages that I follow for recipe ideas. Several friends also keep sharing recipes! Keep 'em coming girls! Most are successful, some are flops for one reason or another but I like being able to make dinner at lunchtime and have minimal clean up during 'witching hour.'<br />
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Any parent will attest to having a 'witching hour,' when nothing but chaos envelopes the house and it seems endless... but it is always darkest just before the dawn! At 4 pm I start dinner (unless I've used the crock pot) but none the less Nick gets home right around that time so I'm scrambling trying to get the kids to tidy up and get dinner on the table before 5:30. Then one parent baths the kids while the other does the dishes, sweeps and mops the floor and generally tidies up the place. Kids are in bed for 7 and usually asleep before 7:30, at which time we debate whether or not to do one more 'tidy' project before we colapse on the couch and 'rock, paper, scissors' for who's gonna go grab a bottle of wine from under the stairs. We play musical beds all night long and my alarm goes off at 6:10 am for me to hop in the shower ~ and so it begins all over again. <br />
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Cheers to happy parenting and crock pot ease! If I have the energy after tonights 'witching hour,' I shall post pics!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-38252947904518140482012-09-30T20:26:00.001-07:002012-09-30T20:26:26.799-07:00Crockery cooking, Canning & CompanyHoly SMOKES! It has been a while since I updated our blog! Can ya blame me? I've been a single parent every other week since the 1st of August... and there doesn't seem to be any chance of a slow down in life!<br />
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Ruby is LOVING preschool! She's still a tid bit apprehensive when I drop her off, but she seems to not think of me the minute Elias and I leave. And she always has a HUGE smile on her face when I pick her up! I wasn't able to get any info out of her the first 4 classes but she has since opened up and is a chatterbox all afternoon long (on school days!) <br />
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Elias is enjoying his time with Mummy one on one. He helps me clean, or we bike ride into town for a coffee and a play at the park. Last week we were fortunate enough to stumble on a cement truck pouring a new basketball court. He was mesmerized! <br />
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Nick is here there and everywhere. It is trying in every conceivable aspect. He went hunting last week and came home skunked without ANYTHING, and the fiasco of picking him up from his brother's at 1 am didn't bode well. There were many a word said on the truck ride home, and I was completely grateful for my mother visiting so I didn't have to disturb the children. <br />
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So now we're broke, gonna starve and have a massive credit card bill. But hey, we're still all together, healthy and living in the Valley! God himself was merciful, I left at 11:45 pm to head south, fuming, and near tears and then I turned on the radio and heard; Lee Brice's 'Hard to Love' followed up by Jason Aldean's 'Why?' So I smiled and kissed my hubby when he finally pulled in, weary, bleary and broken hearted. <br />
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Yes, I know we listen to country music!<br />
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So home for the weekend with a <em>gigantic</em>'To Do' List. There is SO much to get done before the rains come and I can't possibly get it done without him home. We tackled quite a bit, and made a great team doing it!<br />
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Alex the dreamy tree guy was back to grind out the massive tree stumps. Poor fellow spent all day in the blazing sun with this enormous lawn mower looking machine, that has gnarley looking 'teeth' and must weigh 250 lbs, grinding down the tree stumps, flicking dirt up in his face for 8 hours. Must be how he keeps so svelt! He had to come back to complete the job... I know 'poor' me!<br />
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But the yard is <strong>AMAZING</strong>! It's truly hard to fathom how just a few short months ago there were 3, 40+ ft maple trees standing, and now there are just leveled patches of dirt waiting for the grass to grow next spring. Nick and I were so pleased we'd asked Alex to come back to grind out the stumps. The machine is rentable but watching it done really made us appreciate being able to pay someone to do it! Well worth the money! (And the view ;P )<br />
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While Alex was grinding out the stumps Nick was making and canning, 'Carrot Pepper Salsa.' Our jungle of tomato plants yielded 20+ lbs of tomatoes that needed to be dealt with. The plants will probably yield another 15 if not 20 lbs ~ near 40 lbs of tomatoes total , not bad for not knowing what we were doing! <br />
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Nick was able to get 16 ~ 250ml jars of the salsa but had a bunch of tomatoes still left over. So he made tomato sauce, and had the <u>BRILLIANT</u> idea of breaking out his virgin 'food mill' to process the fruits. He cut them up, boiled them and then put them in the food mill, pressing out the flesh. All that was left in the end was maybe a cup full of seeds and skins. It was <em>impressive! </em>In the end he has 8 ~ 500 ml jars of tomato sauce canned.<br />
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While Nick was gone I had the chore of feeding children a minimum of 3 meals per day and tidying up the messes. SUCH a chore! But I have rediscovered my crock pot and a friend turned me on to 'Get Crocked' blog. Made life so much easier!!!! I made German Goulash and the next night Sweet'n'Sour Chicken. I LOVE my crock pot! I was able to make dinner, while I cleaned up lunch and it made those lonely nights go by a little easier with minimal clean up. I fully intend to use the crock more often as Ruby starts swimming in a few short weeks at 5:30 pm smack dab in the middle of dinner hour. Oy vey! Mrs. Crock Pot to the rescue! The blog even boasts crock pot cinnamon buns and other baked goods! I'll try it out!<br />
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Mum came up to keep me company and break up my single parent week. She brought with her GF muffins and cookies, which the kids devoured, and Ruby still asks for every morning! I had to promise her tonight that I'd bake muffins with her tomorrow or she wouldn't go to bed! Had to laugh, she'd walked in the door, kiss me and made a mad dash for the loo. (3 hours in the car will do that to a person) But apparently before she knew it she was sitting down and the dog was licking her knees, while Eli was trying to climb up onto her knees and Ruby was telling her ALL about the new shower curtain we'd bought and then proceeded to advise her on proper body washing protocols...."Want to try it out Grammie? I could help you wash your hair! We, we have to have bath before bed you know...." I was splitting a gut!!!<br />
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Nick came home and the work began. He picked out all the large rocks by hand, filled in the tree stump holes with wood chips, covered them with dirt, and made a giant 'dune' out of the left over wood chips (Ruby had fun playing in it and was filthy dirty when she came in!)<br />
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His Mum Brenda and her hubby Rob came up Saturday afternoon, bringing with them a GF lasagna which was YUMMY and both kids had 2 helpings! I made a sweet potato pie for dessert. Nick raised and eye brow but I'd always wanted to try making one... and it turned out <em>fabulously!</em> It has a similar flavour and texture to pumpkin pie but is much lighter and less greasy? Sometimes pumpkin pie can be very heavy and greasy, I think it is just the nature of the sugar pumpkin squash. But the sweet potato pie was marvelous! I highly recommend trying it as an alternative to this coming Thanksgiving weekend's traditional pumpkin pie. <br />
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We're off to Country Maples in Chemainus to meet up with my sister's family and my folks for Thanksgiving feast. We're having a 'Bean Off' on the Saturday night, my Ma is making her famous beans, and Nick is making his 'Venison and Beans.' Winner gets bragging rites for a week! We'll be bringing our RV obviously and an older stove/oven from a dismantled camper, plus my sister's RV oven ~ we're hoping to make a Thanksgiving feast for 12! I'll be making brussle sprouts with bacon, and GF sweet potato pie and a GF pumpkin, caramel pecan pie. Yes, I will take pics and blog about it!<br />
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I'm hoping the festivities don't hinder my progress. After 3 years of pregnancy and child rearing I'm finally able to put on my skinny jeans!!! ...I can't do them up, but I can get them ON! Bike riding, towing 50 lbs of kids 4 times per week has made my hips and rear end shrink!!! YAY me! So I'm going to keep it up (as if I have a choice!) <br />
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I'll see about posting pictures! TTYL!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-54840117200013224632012-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:002012-09-16T21:49:40.079-07:00Up to date Pics!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Princess Peach on her 6th Birthday!</div>
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Cousin Evie, Auntie Sarah, Uncle Ken and Eli!</div>
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Ruby's stunning bowling outfit!</div>
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Being Daddy's cheerleader!</div>
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Grammie and her oldest grandbaby Julia!</div>
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Eli bowling with Mummy!</div>
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Some old guy pattin' Eli's head as he chased the bowling ball around the alley!</div>
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Under chairs...</div>
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Squeezin' through...</div>
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Playing with cousin Evie!</div>
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All our pretty toes that Grammie painted that weekend!</div>
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The fabulously inspirational garden at Pacific Shores!</div>
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Espaliered apple trees!</div>
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Kiwi's on an arbor!</div>
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A NEW and excellent GF product! Gluten free 'couscous!)</div>
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Symbols we're seeing more and more of!</div>
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The blush wine for the peach 'rose.'</div>
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40 lbs peaches!</div>
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Ruby's first day Preschool! She was upset the next day of class because her 'school' shirt wasn't clean!... Um, only bought it for the first day not for <em>each</em> class!</div>
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In came Elias quite upset, we both turned round to see that he'd been made into a human sticker book! He wasn't impressed!</div>
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More labelling I like!</div>
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Elias' First Birthday!</div>
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I made him chocolate cake and iced it with chocolate in my first attempt at 'basket weave' technique.</div>
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Ruby iced her own cupcake!</div>
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Elias didn't even take one bite; instead he wore it!</div>
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And then mushed it into <em>my</em> hand.</div>
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The cake I spent <em>hours</em> making, and he still <em>never</em> ate a bite.</div>
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Sweet little curls and blue eyes! Done he make yer heart melt?</div>
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My brother's 'vicious' Pit Bulls came for the visit.</div>
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I'm <em>totally</em> terrified!.... Aren't you?</div>
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The GF Pumpkin Pie I made for my own birthday!</div>
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Elias at the Toopy and Binoo Concert....</div>
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Ruby at the Toopy and Binoo concert.....</div>
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Despite the what the pictures are reflecting... both had a <em>marvelous</em> time at Toopy and Binoo!</div>
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Heard her pouring her own drink and went to investigate... she said she was using, 'Daddy's juice cup.' </div>
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Elias passed out with Daddy in the chair... he had the snufflies poor fellow.</div>
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Helping himself to a carrot the next morning...</div>
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Been a good summer! I just got back from using the trailer on a solo camping trip 10 minutes up the road. Nick survived 36 hours as a single dad and the house was still standing upon my return! ... Now gearing up for his absence as he goes on a hunting trip shortly! Better come back with some meat or I'll be skinning <em>him.</em></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-70186970090471820162012-09-12T13:42:00.001-07:002012-09-12T13:42:57.637-07:00Our BIG. FAT. FULL. Life!Sorry for the short hiatus! Life is all hustle and bustle!<br />
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The month of August was tough! Nick was up island working for 3 out of the 5 weeks and the 2 weeks he <em>was</em> home he was working MAD overtime. It was tiring and lonely. Even the kids were showing signs of having enough.<br />
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My niece's 6th birthday was the last day of August. But with Nick gone the kids and I couldn't leave the dog home, so we did a day trip on the Wednesday down to Coombs and Parksville where my sister was staying at her time share. Nick came home the Thursday night, so I had my folks drive the hour north to come and get the kids and I for a couple of over night's at my sisters vacation spot.<br />
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We had fun, but Ruby was ATROCIOUS. And I mean SERIOUSLY so! SO misbehaved that she was putting everyone on edge. She woke up at 6 am two days in a row and started shrieking when anyone even looked at her. I'd had enough so I texted Nick to come and pick her up which he did Friday afternoon. We had words but at the end of the day the OT was wearing on everyone. <br />
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Ruby returned on Saturday with a better attitude and had fun with her cousins. That Sunday we did a bunch of yard work before the beginning of fall. The tomatoes are still ripening but there are buckets full. I've ripped out all that had gone to seed, the only things left are some carrots, onions and the tomatoes. <br />
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We've been discussing what type of cover crop we might want to put in the raised bed to ensure that nutrients doesn't leach out over the wet winter. We will also plant some garlic and onions shortly.<br />
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The italian plums on the tree are finally turning to a deep purple! And one of the raspberry plants has actually produced fruit! Super excited about this!<br />
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There was a wonderful garden at my sisters vacation spot which I took pictures of. I was SO inspired by the espaliered apple trees, the pergola kiwi vines and the latticed grape vines that it gave me a whole new perspective on our own garden! Looking at the house I can see a spot for 2 female kiwi vines, a spot for a nice long pergola with grapes and room for at least 5 espaliered fruit trees up against the house! <br />
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Nick and I canned 40 lbs of peaches and I was able to pry open one of the centres to get at the two seeds within, I've put them in a pot and we shall see what happens. I'm going to do the same with the prune plums, Nick has read that the prune plums will produce more with two trees in close proximity to one another. I'm hoping he is right!<br />
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Ruby has started preschool two mornings per week and gymnastics class one morning per week. The first day of preschool felt odd, I dropped her off, stayed only 20 minutes and then took Elias to the park across the street. It was eerie just he and I! I guess I'll have to get used to it! Gymnastics class was FUN! Elias is upstairs in the rec centre's child minding while I take Ruby to the parent involved class. ... We were back in the 'foam pit of death,' but we were all smiles at the end!<br />
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Elias turned 1! Both Nick and I are agast that the year is already come and gone! Didn't we just blink and he's walking? He can even say a few words now; Mummy, Daddy, dog, kitty, hi.....I'm teaching him the names of his body parts, he likes mouth and fingers.<br />
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He does NOT like cake! I made cupcakes on his actual birthday and iced them with chocolate icing ~ he just made a great big mess. Then on Saturday I spent hours, HOURS making his first birthday cake, with homemade fondant, kneading it by hand over and over. Only to have him totally NOT eat any of it! Oh well.<br />
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Grammie and Papa (my parents) came up for two nights to celebrate with us. Grammie brought Ruby a new 'Dora the Explorer' book and Ruby insisted Grammie read it to her in her new bed. .... Oh ya last week of August Nick picked up a queen sized bed from his bro that he no longer needed. So we've taken Ruby's old captain's bed out and put in the queen. She quite likes it!<br />
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Elias got some clothes from each of his Aunties, a tool chest from Grammie and Papa and a foam chair from Mum and Dad. Nana and Papa Rob brought up a stuffed Curious George and a giant Curious George book. I had to take the stuffy out of the crib because everytime he looks at it he laughs out loud! <br />
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Nick's mum Brenda and step dad Rob also brought up Nick's maternal Grandma Driedger's dining room suite. It is exquisite! Brenda generously purchased it out of her parents estate as a gift to us, they even have stored it for us for nearly 3 years while we waited to be moved here to the Valley and then tried to make the logistics of bringing it up work. But it is finally here in all it's beauty! Brenda even brought the original sales receipt! Bought in 1986 for $3000+ Grandma Annette had saved up using money she made babysitting the neighbourhood kids! It was the first and possibly only significant purchase she ever made with her own ends; a wonderful peace of familly history in our own dining room!<br />
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Nick and I had fun the other night cleaning up some of Grandma's crystal glasses and some of our own crystal we had received as wedding presents 6 years ago. Some of the pieces were still in their original boxes as we never had any place fitting for them! I added two champagne flutes given to use as a gift on our wedding night by Nick's dad and step mum. They are a very near match to the glasses of his maternal grandmother's! I also added the dark green (almost teal) pottery coffee pot and two cups/saucers from a set my mother gave me which she picked up 30+ years ago in England. Made by monks in a monestary I quite like them and have always wanted to put them up; the box they were in has moved with us 3 times from Victoria to Port McNeill and now to the Valley but hasn't even been opened in 7+ years!<br />
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We included a beautiful silver mirrored serving tray from Nick's paternal grandmother and the cake toppers from my paternal grandparents wedding in 1947 along with our own cake topper. The hutch lights up and when the house is dark with just the fire place on and the hutch lit up I feel like I am Queen of my very own fancy castle!<br />
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My own birthday was yesterday. I got the kids up, fed, dressed and in the bike trailer for 8:20am to take Ruby to preschool. Once back home Elias had trouble finding what to do with himself. I put dinner in the slow cooker and made a pumpkin pie ~ I loath cake but could eat a whole pie to myself! Both turned out great! Took the dog and Elias back up to the preschool on my bike. I was a bit nervous about taking the dog but she was fantastic and enjoyed the exercise! Riding 3+ times per week, nearly twice a day I'd better be freakin' SKINNY by Christmas! In truth I can already tell that my body shape has changed because my pants feel quite loose. I am excited by this!<br />
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Last night we took the kids to the theatre to watch the stage production of 'Toopy and Binoo' a Canadian kids show. Both the kids were simply mesmerized! It truly was the BEST birthday present I could have ever received! Their faces were <em>beaming,</em> smiling in awe of the show. I couldn't help but look over at Nick, I caught his eye and saw the twinkle in my own eye reflected in his. <br />
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I am blessed. I am living my dream. xoxox<br />
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Life <em>is</em> BIG. FAT. and FULL!<br />
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I'll post pictures later tonight!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-8500384706658970972012-08-28T14:40:00.002-07:002012-08-28T14:40:17.181-07:00Pictures!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sweaty and happy after working in the garden; sitting back and watching our kidletts play in the yard.</div>
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Daddy's version of 'wash the baby.'</div>
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Elias playing 'dentist.'</div>
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Our new favourite park ~ Quarry Street for the win!</div>
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Nick scaled this seemingly 'unscalable' rock, so of course Ru had to join him at the top!</div>
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The rhubarb/ raspberry patch, when they were planted they were only 4 inch sapplings. We have plans to add two more beds to the left of this one along the fence line. One will contain more raspberries, the other sunflowers and 'sunchokes' aka Jerusalem Artichokes for a splash of colour and fun for the kids!</div>
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The berry patch, closest to the tree are 'honeyberries' although half dead I got them for cheap and hope they come back in the spring. The foreground are the huckleberries and I think two blue berries. The large green bush on the far back right is the goosberry bush (the largest one) for being so new it had a good yield of 6 berries this year.</div>
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The grafted 4 kinds apple tree, Nick pinched off the two apples it was starting to allow the tree to put its effort into growing strong root structure.</div>
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Ruby helping Daddy fix the wheel on the wheel barrow.</div>
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'Black' Russian tomatoes waiting to ripen!</div>
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Eli being a 'goomba.'</div>
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My Hawaiian Princess!</div>
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I LOVE this one!</div>
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More tomatoes!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNUmMHyYoO4pKnCf07PoKgV3JK4Qi-qdTYiSkJdfVsQ5lUH2QlBPfFDScN4fxdoF-ATOVS4Pya1ckcnwk23X-Jit2W7PtuFzRJTXUlwRWxFSJ48by3eLxztw-ZrWKXMDnSKNt9rB7SoIC/s1600/IMG_5785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNUmMHyYoO4pKnCf07PoKgV3JK4Qi-qdTYiSkJdfVsQ5lUH2QlBPfFDScN4fxdoF-ATOVS4Pya1ckcnwk23X-Jit2W7PtuFzRJTXUlwRWxFSJ48by3eLxztw-ZrWKXMDnSKNt9rB7SoIC/s320/IMG_5785.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Still MORE!</div>
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We planted the 6 plants FAR too close together, they've produced beautifully but they are a tangled jungle mess. They bushes are so laden with fruit that the branches were touching the ground. I had to get Nick to help me make a jumbled lattice of twine to keep the fruit from touching the ground where it could rot before it even ripens.</div>
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After the first frost I'll take the machete to the ferns and mulch up what I can, then I'll cover them with a tarp for the winter to stop photosynthesis, come spring it is here in half moon shape that I will start my 'edible hedge.'</div>
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Same mulching and covering here to make a raise strawberry bed!</div>
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In the foreground is the centre of the three maple trees we had cut down. Just on the other side of the house is the neighbour's maple. I'm quite happy we had the gumption to cut the trees down or the backyard would have been VERY dark and virtually unusable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_KLr_mj9gSMWFFV6BTmPjBmodHzQfzCQ0HBGdcEGHVm5_d5hzBdWqtnralKwyTOzqcLIlvEWaMS0pWy8RfAgGz0HZ01q35VAIkCVLltmPfs71-l_2VR0M6tIu7c1Rq6EVy8ifQ9YbBV0/s1600/IMG_5824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_KLr_mj9gSMWFFV6BTmPjBmodHzQfzCQ0HBGdcEGHVm5_d5hzBdWqtnralKwyTOzqcLIlvEWaMS0pWy8RfAgGz0HZ01q35VAIkCVLltmPfs71-l_2VR0M6tIu7c1Rq6EVy8ifQ9YbBV0/s320/IMG_5824.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gypsy's favourite spot.</div>
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Cooking up our first batch of bacon from our side of pork. It was DELICIOUS!</div>
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It had a lovely colour and light smoke flavour, infinitely better than the conventional commercial bacon with to me tastes of nothing but chemicals.</div>
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Hashbrown taters grown in our own garden!</div>
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Call me ridiculous but it's fun to open meat from brown butcher's paper!</div>
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Small grape tomatoes (Ruby's fave) and two smaller Black Russians. The difference in flavour is unmistakeable! The 'grape' variety being crisp with a hint of citrus. The Black Russians are deep rounded, robust flavour, unlike anything I've ever tried, they too were delicious!</div>
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Smaller onions from the garden and 5 jars of pickled beets, grown in our garden that Nick helped me can last night! YUMMY! Have plans next week to can some peaches and make some 'Carrot Pepper' Salsa!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-44647198951874673752012-08-24T22:46:00.000-07:002012-08-24T22:46:02.231-07:00She's Got A Ticket To RIDE!Well watch out people! The kids and I have joined the world of 'cyclists.' Yep, I finally got my bike and the kiddie bike trailer up and running! ( With Nick's help of course because I couldn't seem to figure out the damned tire pump... and yet when I watched him do it, it was <em>nothing</em> like the instructions he gave me... wonder why I couldn't get it to work?...hmmmm....)<br />
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Anyway, I was leary about using it because all the guide lines say to wait until the children are well over a year old. Something to do with their very soft spines and bumps compressing the vertabrae etc. Elias is walking around now like king tut! I don't have far to travel and the Valley has <u>excellent</u> painted bike lanes on all major roads. So I figured why not?<br />
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This all started because I have signed Ruby up for preschool and gymnastics starting in September. Trying to be the ever diligent mother I decided that the three of us (Myself, Ruby and Elias) needed to start practicing getting up and at 'em in the morning. Usually we wake up well before 7am, but to get the three of us up, fed, me showered, them dressed and out the door at 8:30 am at the <em>very</em> latest is no small feat! Then I timed how long it would take us to walk the six blocks to 'school.'<br />
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We left at 8:28 after SEVERAL set backs, including; not eating breakfast (either child), Ruby not getting dressed, Elias not wanting his shoes on and me cursing as I shoved his tiny fat feet into them. Leaving Ruby naked and screaming at the top of the stairs as I carried the screaming Elias down the stairs and threatened to leave everybody home while I went out by myself for a latte. Then when I finally coaxed Ruby into clothes, hair combed, shoes on, we got down to the garage only for me to realize Nick had left the new buggy in the back of the truck. SHITE! No bother I'll just continue to use our old cheap buggy that is falling apart. Out the door and the dog is whining... Ruby has left her locked out on the front porch. RACE back inside and let her in, FINALLY get moving at 8:28 and walk as <em>FAST</em> as I can (with a 2 year old also walking) up to the school~ made it there for 8:49. School starts at 9. GREAT! I can DO this!<br />
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Put the bike together that evening and the next morning we started it all over again... kids still didn't eat, but there was much less screaming involved. Left the house at 8:21 and arrived at 8:27!! YESSS! 6 whole minutes to ride us! I nearly DIED but we did it! So we played at the park for a bit and then we rode into town for some milk. It was glorious! Wind in our faces, scenery flying by! What would have taken me ALL morning to walk there and back took me only minutes! We were home for 10:15! <br />
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Elias <em>hates</em> his bike helmet but he's fine once we get moving. I am loving it now, but I may change my tune once the wet weather sets in. That said I was able to pick up some great light weight rain gear at Costco, the buggy has a built in rain shield which will keep the kids dry for the few minutes it'll take us to make pick ups and drop offs.(I store the bike and trailer in the garage) The only thing I'll need is some waterproof mascara!<br />
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Nick has been working mega overtime and it's beginning to wear on me. I do love the extra funds but it still makes for an awfully long day with the wee ones and then the 'to do' list just gets further and further behind. So I've taken to writing 'memos' on my new touch cell phone. At least I can make a list and not get so far behind I won't know where to start. <br />
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I've been thinking a lot about what should be done for the garden next year. Nick has already dug out the potatoes, we have a good 20 lbs of them and we nearly left them too long as some had to be thrown out because the worms were starting to make homes for themselves. The beans are also done for the year. Carrots are just waiting for when I need them. The tomatoes I have stopped watering so that they will begin to ripen. Ruby helps herself everytime we're in the back yard! I'd like to pickle half of the beets (sweet pickled beets are excellent in salads!) but that is another of the things on the 'to do' list that I need Nick to be home for... we'll get there!<br />
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I have been researching Hardy Kiwi vines. Interesting to know that both a male and female vine is necessary to propagate fruit. The only problem being that one will not know until the vines flower in the spring whether or not you have both sexes. In any event apparently it is best to start them in pots for the first few years to ensure good root structure before planting and still, once planted, it takes several years for fruit to develop. So much for kiwi's next year!<br />
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I have decided on doing a 'edible hedge,' as outlined by Lee Reich in his book, 'A Homeowner's Guide - Landscaping with Fruit.' It includes a back row of saskatoon berry bushes, ( 3 ft high) a middle row of red currant bushes flanked by Nanking cherry bushes and a front row of strawberry plants. It should be a delightful display of varying green leaves, and red fruit! At the moment I have two places in mind to put it, in front of the shed/compost bin to hide the unsightly, and behind the swing in the north east corner. In future I might do another somewhere in the south west corner just for fluidity but that is much later when more raised beds are established. <br />
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Also have ideas to put in two more long raised beds along the back fence, there by extending the raspberry bed. The sapplings sprang up so quickly and made for quick privacy foliage between yards. I think we've decided on another raspberry/rhubarb bed and also some sun flowers for the kids. I have since discovered a book published by 'Lone Pine,' titled, 'Vegetable Gardening for British Columbia' written by Laura Peters. In it she identifies a root vegetable or 'tuber' called the 'Sunchoke' aka 'The Jerusalem Artichoke.' Laura writes, "Sunchokes, of the sunflower family, are native species that develop edible tubers, which taste like artichokes, radishes or waterchesnuts, depending on who is describing the flavour."<br />
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In any event they have gorgeous tall yellow flowers looking much like a yellow daisy, they will give a spot of colour in the garden as well as being edible!<br />
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She also writes about, 'Asparagus Peas' a delicate plant with a history that shows it was known to be cultivated as far back as 1569. Since then it is largely wild and under appreciated. Apparently it is neither asparagus-like nor pea-like but gets its name from the small red flowers which resemble pea blossoms. She writes, "The pods are good steamed or stir-fried, alone or with other vegetables or as a substitute for green beans."<br />
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Through my readings I have come across <em>many</em> varieties of vegetables that simply do not appear in our grocery stores. Like; round yellow cucumers, purple peppers, blue potatoes, candy cane beets etc. Many, many things which I would LOVE to grow and present at my table. A cornicopia of rainbow coloured veggies! Sounds like heaven to me!<br />
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We also watched a wonderful documentary on Netflix. I wasn't really into watching it but Nick threw it on anyway knowing FULL well that it would draw and captivate my attention. Called, "The Queen of the Sun," it is a documentary on the honeybee. Or rather human kinds decimation of the honeybee. It featured many beekeepers, entomologists, physicists, and scientists galore, and included many countries around the world. I'll try not to spoil it but, some of the intriguing and saddening/maddening parts included; killing the bees with our pesticide use, artificial insemination of queen bees, (I know ~ what has humanity come to?) and human kinds complete and utter reliance on the one MAJOR pollinator of our food supply. Worth an hour of your time for sure! I have to admit I got fairly misty eyed when one German (I think) bee keeper talked about the 'circle of life' of both bees and humans intertwining, he was so poetic in his 'must think of the correct english word' speaking that it brought me to tears. Then I started laughing at myself... like really? I'm crying over honeybees? Where's a tissue? No, I'll just go outside and hug a freakin' tree. I'm SUCH a hippie!<br />
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I'll post some pics tomorrow.<br />
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Please give this documentary a look see. I'd LOVE to know your opinions. Did it inform you? Anger you? Move you to action? What will you do differently?<br />
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Hope to hear from you faithful readers!<br />
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Kate<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03961901710563905038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515986552805753025.post-63944634706463201972012-08-19T16:40:00.001-07:002012-08-19T16:40:07.641-07:00So...where's the pig?Had another AWESOME week! Aunty Chantelle came up for a visit with little cousin Evie! They arrived on Monday and stayed in our chaos until Wednesday. Nick went up to Port McNeill, but Chantelle and Evie kept us company for at least the first two days of him being gone. <br />
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We walked into the village, played at the park, got a coffee, did some window shopping and then headed to Filberg Park for the petting zoo and picnic under the wonderful shade of the trees. <br />
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On the way home we got some gelato while Eli slept. It was so wonderful to have company!<br />
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They left Wednesday morning before the heat picked up. Funny how I was just thinking that summer was winding down and then we have an enormous heat wave! It reached 30 degrees outside, which meant that it reached 40 degrees in my living room. It was unbearable at times.<br />
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Wednesday the kids and I headed south in the afternoon to Buckley Bay. There we went to 'Renegade Ranch' to pick up a side of pork. I had posted on the Facebook Comox Valley 'Farmers Market' page, where just as the name suggests there are local artisans, farmers and the like exchanging and selling goods. Anyway I had commented on a post from a woman waaaay back in late June but only just received a reply as she hadn't seen my message. She stated that she had one small side of pork left, only 82 lbs, and she needed it gone so she gave me a deal. <br />
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I made the mistake of telling Ruby that we were going to pick up a pig.... um ya, apparently two year olds are literal?<br />
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So we pull up and it is as ranches and farms are, invarious states of interrupted half finished projects. Tractors, fencing, tools, trucks, feed etc, etc. But we were greeted by a friendly dog and a black horse. The woman came out and was quite personable, she'd just had a baby 8 weeks previous and was adjusting to life with two children on a working ranch. ... Had to explain to Ruby that the pig was in the boxes...bit of an awkward conversation!<br />
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For $230 we picked up 82 lbs of pork in 3 boxes. Not completely 'certified organic' but well fed and local! The lady also said they had sides of beef and chickens available. Nick will be going hunting next month so we'll be stocked for red meat when he gets home. But I told her we'd be very interested in the chickens.<br />
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Nick and his brother will be going up to their Uncle Shane's property near McBride and hunting once the season opens late next month. This season looks rather promising as that area is abundant with life. Elk are 'six points' or better, (counting the tines on the antlers), moose are open with the purchase of a 'tag,' as are mule deers and I think even black bears. My preference is Elk, Moose, Black Bear and then Mule Deer coming in quite last. In any event he'd better come home with something or I'll be skinning HIM for supper!<br />
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We've also been reading up on 'U-Slaughter' which is a method in which we the purchaser assist the rancher or farmer in the slaughtering of our own chickens (or other such meat.) The trouble with our resources is that the books are mainly American and thus their laws differ quite widely. Much of what is entailed is that we purchase the animals live and then assist in the slaughter and processing for a slightly lesser cost. Still have some investigating to do. Will keep you posted. <br />
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Last year we purchased 18 birds from a local grocer in Port McNeill. Three whole birds were put in a bag and the bags were on special for the weekly deal. Nick spoke to the Meat Department Manager and we put in an order for 6 bags. It being our first go it took Nick and I three hours (6 'man' hours total) to process the chickens and vacuum pack them. Nick cut them up, sorted the cuts on cookie sheets and I packaged them into portions with our vacuum sealer. We even made some homemade (and gluten free) teriyaki sauce and bbq sauce for marinades. In the end we basically were purchasing boneless skinless chicken breasts for less than $2.99 per pound as opposed to the near $8.99 per pound from the store. For such a small amount of time it seems worth it. Especially since now we should be able to shorten the processing time. What we're looking for is a rancher/farmer who would let Nick assist in the slaughter, which includes the killing, evicerating and plucking of the birds. We'd then take the whole fresh birds home and once the kids were asleep start our own processing. <br />
I can imagine many an eyebrow is raised reading this, but we don't mind doing it for the savings, the knowledge and the connection to our food. And yes once the kids are older we definitely plan on involving them. Our belief is that one should know where their food comes from or at the very least understand that the chicken on one's plate was once a leaving breathing creature, but I digress...<br />
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After picking up our pig, we hit Walmart on the way home. The usual diapers, wipes, formula, etc. But I also had the fun of helping Ruby pick out her new backpack, pencil case, lunch box and new t shirt for preschool which starts in a few short weeks! She was SO excited we went home and she packed it full or Lord knows what, then proudly came into show me and announce, "I'm ready! Let's go to school now Mum." Too cute!<br />
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I unpacked the truck; pig, diapers, wipes etc and put it in the garage. Then I took the kids out of the truck and put them into the play room which is slightly cooler than the rest of the house. Once they were occupied I set about putting the pork into the freezer. We have several different sized hams, chops, ribs, steaks, bacon, breakfast sausages, sausage patties etc all nicely wrapped in brown butchers paper. <br />
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Then I removed several plastic bags from the boxes, one was of some fat for rendering, one of trim (more fat), then came the heart and tongue, ham hock, two feet and finally half a snout and one ear. Gives new meaning to the phrase, " the only thing you can't eat is the 'oink.'".... Nick has in his magnificent and ever growing library on 'self sufficiency' a butchers book cheekily entitled, "The Odd Bits." I have to say that I am a little bit intrigued. 'Excited' is too strong a word, but 'intrigued' seems to convey my openness to at least <em>trying</em> some of the lesser eaten parts. Some of the recipes in the book sound absolutely delicious even if we're talking about pigs feet.... In any event we shall see and I will blog about it~ just don't tell Nick :)<br />
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It was so STINKING hot, the kids and I were melting. Elias has had his molars bugging him and at 5 to 5 when we walked in the door, I had NO idea what I was making for dinner. So I made PBJ's with some apples and yogurt. I felt like a terrible mother but the kids didn't seem to complain!<br />
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I've been trying to teach the kids to put themselves to sleep, instead of the near hour long ridiculousness that has been going on for months. By and large it has been working and I've been a stickler for 7:30 as bed time. That way a half hour of fussing (ok screaming bloody murder) means they should both be asleep for 8pm and I can still have some semblence of a life once they're asleep.<br />
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Thursday morning we were up and at 'em for our first playdate!!!!!! We met Hannah 3, and Dylan 10 months at Ruby's dance class. Their Mum Kim and I have hit it off and so we set up a play date. We arrived at 9:30 am and time FLEW while all the kids were having such fun, they girls got on IMMEDIATELY! It was wonderful to have a friend to talk to! So we are reciprocating this Monday morning... I have tomorrow to get the house respectable after a week without Nick to help me!<br />
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Friday was not the greatest day, we stayed home so I could put some laundry away and it was again so hot the house was a sauna. I was quite fatigued by it, so was Eli. Caught myself cat napping several times and had to really push myself to get up off the couch which rarely happens. Ruby wouldn't eat anything so I just tried to keep up with liquids. She ended up being rather bored despite my best efforts and spent more time in trouble for purposely squishing, smacking and generally beating up her brother. I was happy when the day was over and Nick came home at 10 pm! Poor guy he'd worked 15 hours of OT in one week!<br />
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Saturday we packed up the kids and headed to Parksville. One of Nick's favourite cousins is Candice. Born just 10 days apart the two were quite fond of each other growing up. Candice met and married her Australian husband at just 19 and has lived in Tasmania ever since. She has two lovely children Evelyn 10 and Malakai 8. Candice has travelled up to spend 4 months here on the island before returning home, packing up (again) and moving the family to Boston for a one year posting. (Her hubby Paul is interestingly employed by the Australian military as a food scientist) The last time we saw Candice is when she was here for the summer 3 years prior and I was largely pregnant with Ruby. She invited us to spend the day at Beach Acres in Parksville (an hour south) where Candice's family owns a cabin.<br />
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We got the kids ready, packed up bathing suits, diapers, towels, bottles, water, snacks, blah blah blah. Nick goes to pack up the truck... can't find his keys... I had them last.... hmmmm....Truck is actually unlocked so I reach in to the diaper bag and pull out my own keys to use. Nick is 'oh so impressed' that I used his keys because I 'misplaced' my own keys and then subsequently 'misplaced' his keys, only to find the original keys while his remain 'misplaced.' Ahem.<br />
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Insert key into ignition and CLICK! Nothing happens. Nick standing by the passenger door is again 'oh so amused' that I'd left the Sirius radio on for three days and now the battery is dead. I smiled and fluttered my eye lashes. It had no effect.<br />
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He took off his sunglasses, narrowed his eyes and with clenched teeth said, "New RULE! If you 'misplace' your own keys you are NOT to use mine, you simply forfeit the priviledge of driving. SECONDLY, go to the neighbours and ask for a jump." <br />
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I laughed, attempting to make the situation lighter but he really <em>wasn't</em> amused. So I sauntered over to the neighbours and she came to rescue us, kids in tow. Quick jump and we were off and running. I told Nick we'd swing by the gas station and I'd buy him a coffee to make up for it. <br />
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Got to the gas station, I told him to look in my purse for change... he told me not to turn off the truck....I stuck my tongue out at him while he rooted round in the bottom of my purse.... I didn't have any change.... he reached into his own pocket and sighed.... I kept the truck running..... he returned and handed me a rather large coffee through the window, keeping the smaller coffee for himself.... I raised an eyebrow.... he climbed in, placed the small cup in the holder, put on his seat belt and shut his eyes as he explained that before he'd realize what he'd done he'd poured the cream into the larger cup, there by thoroughly and completely <em>ruining</em> his morning.<br />
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And I ~ being the dutiful, loving and demure wife that I always am ~ BURST. OUT. LAUGHING!<br />
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Infact, I laughed so hard I couldn't drive, there were tears in my eyes!!! I'm STILL chuckling! Ppor guy was SO tired he didn't even have the energy to laugh at himself, which is highly unlike him!<br />
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Along the highway, Ruby kicked off her flip flops. Desparate to get them back on she asked Nick in the passenger seat to reach them. He turned around but could only reach one, telling her she'd have to wait until we stopped to get the other one.<br />
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In her most grown up voice she responded with, "Well then Daddy, put <em>down</em> your coffee and try <em>again.</em>"<br />
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THEN he laughed! (And managed to reach the other shoe!)<br />
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We spent the first part of the afternoon at the beach. Nick took Gypsy, Malakai and Evelyn to swim in the ocean. With the tide out it is nearly a kilometre walk! Eli and I spent a bit of time wading in the tidal pools but he just kept eating sand so eventually I packed up the buggy and started heading out to meet our party. Back at the cabin we had some lunch, Nick and Eli had a nap, Ruby followed Evelyn around like a little puppy dog! We swam in the pool, hung out and BBQ'd some turkey burgers. I bathed up the kids, put them in their jammies and had a lovely drive home chatting about everything and nothing. The day had been overcast and much cooler, so the house was pleasant to sleep in.<br />
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It is lovely to see Candice, she and I have always gotten on well. We are planning perhaps to visit them in Boston next year. Nick might just have enough Aero plan points that we could all fly for free. Boston is only 5 hours by train to NYC. I have half a mind to plan a two week trip, the first week with Candice et al in Boston and then the 8 of us travelling to NYC for a week of exploring! We shall see!<br />
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Here are some pics!<br />
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These are some older ones from earlier in the summer, they were taken on Nick's camera so I didn't realize they even existed!</div>
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Washing our bounty in the sprinkler.</div>
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I caught him alone on the veranda, quite please with himself at being able to over turn this table all on his own. Cheeky bugger!</div>
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Elias and the baby calf at the Filberg Petting Zoo.</div>
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Aunty Chantelle and 'Little' Evelyn.</div>
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We all enjoyed petting the piggies, and the rabbits!</div>
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Elias being a naughty stinker~!</div>
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Ugg, sand.</div>
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Ruby and 'Big' Evelyn!</div>
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Aunty Candy and Eli!</div>
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