Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. The kids' clothes are packed for our camping trip. Consequently, they have very little to wear. Ben is currently sporting training underwear and a t-shirt while Jacob is wearing his bathing suit. Joe somehow dressed himself this morning in Hannah's skirt. My first thought was that he looked like a Mennonite cross-dresser. This picture causes me to laugh uncontrollably. 2. My cousin, visiting from the very big city, came over for supper last night with her two children. While we were in the kitchen chatting, Dave was in the front room opening the box that enclosed our new dishwasher. (We have been without a dishwasher for around three weeks now and finally bit the bullet and put in an order with our local appliance store.) In the midst of our conversation, Dave piped in very calmly with: "Elena, would you come and look at this, please?" I traipsed out to the front room to find Dave looking quizzically at the new dishwasher. I walked around to where he stood in order to gain his aspect and saw the source of his confusion. Now, I know that all of you probably know right away that the blue on the front of the dishwasher is a protective covering ... but we didn't. Dave, my cousin and I all stared for a while at our newest appliance wondering who could possibly be able to match their kitchen to this blue behemoth. Well, thank God for visitors from big cities, because it was my cousin who found the chink in the armor and began to pull the covering off the dishwasher to reveal a standard white appliance - phew. 2. Joseph after a very tactile dessert.

4. Outraged. (Perhaps at the thought of Take no.1.) 5. Unfortunately, due to my non-existent spatial skills, the following pictures are reversed. The first is Ben during his haircut and the second is the before picture. Oh well, he is cute in both. Pardon my attire - I was just back from a run.

6. Pre-shearing. Lately, Ben has taken to repeating sayings that he hears frequently. For example, Dave has inherited a questionable mode of discipline from his father. (At least, that is, I question it.) When the kids do something really objectionable, Dave says in an extremely strident tone, "Shame on you!" I have heard Ben using this phrase quite regularly with his siblings. I found myself using this same phrase with little Ben the other day after an act of disobedience. He whipped around, looked me straight in the eye, pointed his index finger and said (stridently), "There is no shame on me!" Oh, sorry I mentioned it.

7. Just so you don't think that our week at a Catholic family camp means that we are living in a tent - think again! We are in cabins. I officially can't stand camping. A friend of mine expressed surprise at this because he said that he always thought of us as outdoorsy people. I replied that we like to swim, run, bike and play outdoors but we prefer to sleep and shower in doors. Something about being dirty. Camping in a tent or trailer is actually a form of torture for me that is probably due to a genetic condition caused by my parents' honeymoon. In a canoe christened 'Nick and Julie' they spent their first month of marital bliss on a month long canoe trip on the Bancroft river after which my mother swore off camping for the rest of her life - some things are generational. Whenever I think of their honeymoon, a photo of my mom with waist length hair, wearing a black turtle neck and jeans while standing waist deep in rushing water comes to mind. I guess I shouldn't complain about the rain on our honeymoon.

Woman at Camp with Lists

Apparently, I don't have much to write about these days. Lots of ideas are floating around in my head or, as Jacob says, my head is surrounded by things to think about. Joe is presently sleeping (he does that a lot when I blog), Ben is at the farm helping Daddy with hay, and Jacob and Hannah are playing some sort of game in the garage. It is finally hot around these parts and it actually looks and feels like summer. It hasn't even rained in two days. Thus, Dave has been at the farm for the past two days helping with the cutting, raking and baling of the hay. (And to think that seven years ago I didn't even know what a stook was.)

Swimming lessons are drawing to a close and we are preparing to head out for a week's vacation at a Catholic family camp. I am at the point of preparation when I shake my head and wonder why I signed up for a week's vacation at a Catholic family camp. (See above picture.)

I made a list of what needs to get done before our departure - perhaps I should remove the painting of Hannah's room- and Joe promptly scratched out the whole thing with a pencil that he had found lying around. A word from above?

I am slowly starting to realise that things somehow always get done without the zealous organisation that sends me into a flurry of busyness and the eventual explosion of anger and tears (all on my part). Maybe I should just schedule in the anger and tears and then we can all know when to expect the falling apart of Mommy:) Dave is much more relaxed and follows a simpler philosophy: by Sunday morning we'll be on the road and if we have bathing suits and toothbrushes, we'll be OK. (And, hopefully, all four kids will also be strapped into their carseats because 7 hours is a long way to drive to retrieve a child.)

So, if I don't post again until next weekend, you'll know why. While I do know that the camp has running water and power, I'm pretty sure it is not yet wireless... And now, off to make more lists because according to the master list, more lists are required.

(And to any would be villain who reads this post and thinks, "Ahah, there house is empty for a week!" - relax, we have four kids, one teacher's salary and our TV isn't even flat-screened. So, if you're looking for Size 5 diapers and some crib sheets, feel free to stop in but watch out for the dog.)

Catch up

I have been a little lax when it comes to posting lately and I blame it on the summer, the presence of my husband (as a teacher, he has two months of holidays) and the resulting pickup in activity. You see, when Dave is around throughout the day the house simultaneously shifts into lower and higher gears. We all become a little more relaxed but we also start to attack the to-do lists and the fun activity lists. It has also been a bit of a wet summer without any significant stretch of hot and sunny weather. Thus, Dave's alternate activity of helping his dad with the hay has yet to happen. In fact, he begins each day with an on-line weather check only to be disappointed again at the absence of good hay weather. Thus, we have been painting bedrooms, visiting friends and family, waiting to do hay, catching up on reading, playing chess, waiting to do hay, walking the dog, running, biking, waiting to do hay, swimming and on and on. But, I decided that it was high time that I chronicled some of this summertime fun. So, I begin with a picture of our youngest: a shot that illustrates that Joe's shoe fetish extends to all foot and legwear. Last Monday we went strawberry picking for the first time as a family. We found a berry farm that is also family friendly and we headed out for the afternoon. We began with a wagon ride out to the strawberry patch. Yes, Jacob is carrying a bucket with holes for placing shapes in. We had a decided lack of buckets around the house and I threw this one together with a milk bag so that the strawberries wouldn't fall out. Dave merely shook his head at me.

Ben was very excited by the tractor ride as he is by the presence of any farm implements or heavy equipment.

Ben proved to be a bit of a moocher when it came to berry picking. He picked a few on his own but mostly relied upon the goodness of his sister's heart. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the same willingness to share as his twin siblings and thus refused to distribute any of his horde. We have to work on this with Ben...

Joseph spent the majority of his time cruising from bucket to bucket illicitly eating the fruits of our labour. After each reprimand he would simply move on to the next family member.

Ben being territorial. Watch out for three-year olds with Nemo buckets.

Jacob was desperate to win his self-initiated strawberry picking contest. He is deeply motivated by any competition.

Hannah had a sibling in tow at all times as she imparted her kindness, knowledge and strawberries.

Note the tears. He has just been reprimanded for eating strawberries and had pulled out the tears as his first line of attack.

His second line of attack was to maintain his reprimander's eye contact while slowing placing his hand in the bucket and removing a berry. He would then place it in his mouth as he maintained eye contact and slowly chew while firmly believing that his parents had been hoodwinked.

I thought that one picture of our family labouring together would be welcome. As you can see, Joseph is taking advantage of the camera distraction to steal more berries.

Dave eventually resorted to arm imprisonment to curtail the berry thief.

And one picture to prove that I was indeed present.

And the next day the family worked together to de-stem (the technical term escapes me) the berries, place them in freezer bags and store them away. We picked 24 litres which amounted to 5 large freezer bags and one baby with no bowel issues.

The treasure trove.

Because some toddlers never learn. Alternate title: Because some mommies never learn.

Because You Asked

A few people have asked me about the swings that Dave built. So, amidst daily swimming lessons, trips out of town and summer visitors, I have finally found some time to post about our new swings. Sorry for any blurriness - wrong setting on the camera. We did not build the fence; it was here when we arrived - if we had built the fence it would look quite different and might not effectively enclose anything. The kids often head out to the swings when still in pajamas; pjs don't always match in our house.

Or maybe this is after bathtime - Hannah's hair is still wet.

Dave did not build this swing. I bought it five years ago when still in the big city. I was out for a run on a Saturday morning and spied it for 2 bucks at a yard sale. I bought it in anticipation of not living in an apartment and living in a house with a yard and a tree from which to hang my new purchase.

This is the structure from which Dave hung the swings. The structure actually supports an elaborate tree house that, as you can see, sits very high off the ground. It is built of cedar, has real windows, a locking door and a loft; Dave and I have considered it as an optional master bedroom. Currently, given our kids' propensity for falling and breaking body parts, the rope ladder which accesses the tree house is 'non-functional'.

Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. Today is the day that I finally announce that Dave has been away marking standardised tests since Sunday evening. He is back tonight. I purposely omitted this information from any previous posts as I am pathologically fearful of murderers, thieves, stalkers and the like (too much Littlest Hobo as a child). Thus, I was convinced that if I mentioned that my husband was away we would immediately be bombarded by the underworld sometime during the husbandless night. Alas, we have made it. I have the presence of our 100 pound Golden Retriever, Sammy, to thank for my restful nights. Something about his size allows a girl to rest easy. Sammy sleeps at the front door leaving the back door unguarded. Last night I had the wise idea of placing the kids' life-size German Shepherd stuffed animal at the back threshold. I know, you can laugh, but it does look very real and not unlike the Littlest Hobo.


2. Despite the canine necessities, we made it through the week quite well. I had a gr. 9 student come in every day from 3:30-5:30 to play with the kids and babysit so that I could get out for some exercise and make supper in relative peace. The kids have loved her presence - especially her exceptional hide-and-seeking and her card playing abilities. We have had absolutely no TV this week and the kids haven't even noticed.

3. The funniest and most frustrating part of Dave's absence was that my children seem to turn on me at suppertime. It's almost like when a classroom of children suddenly realise that the teacher is just a supply teacher with no back up from the Office. For example: Ben actually bit Hannah at suppertime. This sort of thing has never occurred before. Ben is normally very placid and easygoing. However, Dave's absence seemed to have brought out a nastier side in this little boy. I sent him to his room and he kept coming back and peeking around the door. The older two couldn't stop laughing. I told them to stop as their laughter was clearly disabling my discipline. They looked at each other as if they had just recognised their new found authority, glanced at me and said, "But it's sooo funny." Clearly Mommy's admonitions carry little to no punch.

4. Swimming lessons have been going swimmingly despite the near frigid temperatures of the air and water, the necessity for hot baths following lessons and the poster in the swim shed with the signs and symptoms of hypothermia.

5. We had a great visit on Wednesday night with my first cousins and their children. Our children refer to their second cousins as their cousins as we have a real lack of any first cousins in this country. They get on wonderfully with these cousins and always look forward to their holiday visits. After a supper of hotdogs and homemade fries, the kids went swimming in the river and took turns wearing lifejackets and swimming to the raft. Their oldest cousin (9 years) acted as the incredibly encouraging swim teacher: Fabulous. Fantastic. Wonderful swimmer. Great job. It is wonderful to watch these kids grow up together. Also, the need to share lifejackets reminded me of when all of us mothers, as children, had to share skates one Christmas as children. I do recall wearing one boot and one skate at the same time. Apparently, I also taught one of my cousins to burp on that long ago excursion.
6. Aside from Joseph's shoe fetish (he insists on wearing footwear at all times and even goes to bed wearing rubber boots), he is similarly obsessed with balls no matter the size or weight. In fact, his most used words are shoes and ball. Consequently, his eyes lit up when he caught sight of the croquet set at my Aunt and Uncle's house and determinedly carried two croquet balls (quite heavy) down to the beach. Thus, Joe and I made it to the beach a good five minutes after everyone else. We had several drops of ball no.1, followed by picking it up and losing ball no.2, followed by dropping ball no.2, picking it up and dropping ball no.1... I need not elaborate.
7. The alarm clocks are working fabulously and the children stay in their rooms until 7:15. I am regularly greeted by knocks at the bedroom door accompanied by, "We waited until 7:18..." Praise God for small victories.

Summertime

We've finally returned, if only briefly, to summertime weather; thus, morning swim lessons are a lot more enjoyable. There is a lot to be said for filling the morning with activity. A busy morning yields a quiet afternoon and an easy bedtime. While the twins perfected floating and water tag, the little boys played in the sand. Joseph turned his own hat backwards, not me. I sat and chatted with the other swimming moms - I didn't take a picture as I am sure you believe me.

And here is the quiet afternoon with Rupert and Richard Scarry.

Joseph is behind this door sleeping - just thought you might want to know what he does in the afternoon.

And the little girl has a post set up in her room for beading. She even locks the door to prevent the unauthorised entry of male siblings. Benjamin stands outside with egg beaters and measuring spoons attempting to locksmith his way in. Everyone ends up with bracelets.

At work.

New Domain Name

In the interest of privacy, I recently culled the blog of all references to the names of any towns we have lived in, last names etc. etc. The next thing that I need to do is change our domain name but I need to give fair warning so that my readers can still find me. So, here is fair warning: as of next Wednesday this blog will become http://www.thehouseofdiminishedcircumstances@blogspot.com/. So, if you need to make note of this ... make note of this. If you can't remember the new domain name or have any questions just email me at elenaculshaw@yahoo.com.
The only funny anecdote that I can think of at the moment from the week thus far is in regards to swimming lessons. It has been quite cold here. For example, yesterday morning it was 12 degrees and overcast and the kids still had to swim in the lake for their lessons. The day before their lips were blue for 2 hours post swimming lessons. So, yesterday when I brought them in to the swim shed where they can change their clothes, I wasn't surprised to note a poster titled Signs of Hypothermia. Poor wee ones. I have consoled them that if they can make it through the next three weeks, they can make it through anything.

Girl with swing and clock

Well, I had all these nice pictures to upload accompanied by interesting and thought-provoking commentary but I can't find my pictures folder ... anywhere. Dave was up to something with the computer and I remember him mentioning something about moving folders and culling pictures but, of course, I just sort of nodded my head and went on with things. And now, here I am, on Monday morning with no pictures and a husband who is four hours away with a cell phone that keeps telling me that the customer I am trying to reach is currently unavailable. Grrr.
So, I will tell you that I was going to post photos of our new backyard swings built by the man with the non-functional cell phone. They are really quite beautiful as only something made by hand and saving us $25 per swing can be. They also work beautifully and the kids have more reason to spend time outside. Hannah helped a lot with the swing-making over the weekend and proved to be a wonderful junior carpenter.
However, when not holding wood or balancing rope, she got into a little mischief. I blame this foray into lawlessness on my dad who visited last week and bought copious amounts of jelly beans and other candy. Consequently, Hannah had brightly coloured candy on her mind. So, on Saturday night while I was making supper she came running into the house looking distressed and spitting out the contents of her mouth.
"What are you doing, Hannah?"
"I picked up a blue candy off the ground and bit it but it was filled with yellow, gooey stuff!"
Already beginning to understand, "Did it look like an Easter egg?"
"Yes," nodding vigorously.
Taking her by the hand and going outside, "Show me what you ate."
She searched madly around the yard, near the teeter-totter, the swing, the base of the tree. And then I saw what I was looking for, "Is this it, Hannah?"
Running over to me, "Yes, yes."
"You bit a robin's egg."
"Oh."
"Good thing we washed out your mouth."
Truthfully, I was surprised that Hannah was pretty unfazed by her brush with raw egg. I think that I would have been a little more upset. I guess having three brothers toughens up a little girl. And for any readers who find what is going on in the background while I write my posts interesting: Benjamin is repeating his favourite mantra - Bawack Obama's bad - I think he heard his name mentioned on the CBC news; Jacob is reading over my shoulder and finding out for the first time about Hannah's robin-egg eating; Hannah is drawing and casually answering Jacob's robin egg queries with, "Yeah, I ate a robin's egg. I thought it was candy." No big deal.
And now we're off to prepare for swimming lessons. I feel for the kids - the lessons are at the lake and it don't look too warm out there.
Oh, Jacob wants everyone to know that each of the kids have alarm clocks so that they don't come out of their rooms until the numbers 7:15 appear. Amazingly, and much to their chagrin, they slept this morning until the numbers 7:23 appeared. God is good.
p.s. The slightly odd title is my attempt to create titles that sound more like post-modern art exhibits - my sister will understand.