Week 10 & 11: Conflicting Emotions

We've had a lot of emotions the last two weeks - E's teacher is seriously ill and so he's had some sad moments, I had some strong reactions to the military report about long-term care, and then in the last week with the horrific deaths of George Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet, we're just feeling it. All of that heavy stuff juxtaposed with E's 7th birthday and our putting an offer on a cottage (which feels surreal) I'm all over the place a lot of the time. Which I think is good. I'm not going to go in to any of it more on this post, but have shared a lot of resources on facebook and instagram and am always happy to have in person conversations about racial equality and systemic change.

Click any photo to ENLARGE.

Sunday May 17th

After a busy day on Saturday for Andrew finishing up much of the playset, we took it relatively easier today. We had church online and my weekly video call with some church friends who live in our neighbourhood while Andrew and the boys played outside. 

It was a rainy afternoon, so after lunch Andrew worked on fixing our stove top gas burner and replaced the broken igniter.

Monday May 18th
Didn't take any photos today but we spent some time at Andrew's parents house so he could do some computer work for their business (fix their computer back up system and look at an estimate program that wasn't working). I'm thankful the boys are compliant with keeping masks on and staying a safe distance from non-immediate family members.

Tuesday May 19th

Since Monday was a holiday, Tuesday replaced our Music Mondays. While T and I did puzzles and a lot of other play went on, we had a Fred Penner music marathon and then we did three music lessons sent home from E's public school music teacher.

I'm finally recovering from my weird blood pressure episode back on April 16th and am starting to get some confidence back in my ability to exercise. The boys and I went on a great walk (E rode his scooter) and had a snack in a field of dandelions.

Wednesday May 20th

The boys watched a good hour of queued up videos on Storyline Online while I ran some errands to prepare for E's birthday party. When I got back, we spent some much needed time outside playing.

My special time with E today was having tea with cinnamon buns! Was certainly my favourite for the week! And E's blue light glasses came in the mail which he was very excited about. Then we were back outside working on an outdoor scavenger sent home by E's gym teacher (which was set up such that they'd draw names for a few winners and give them some outdoor activity equipment). After dinner we went on my first bike ride in weeks, to drop off Clue Jr. at a friend's house so they could enjoy it for a while.

Thursday May 21st

We spent all morning outside playing in the back yard and on the playset. T had a group Zoom call on the deck with his preschool teachers and some friends. It was very sweet and of course sad too as he won't be returning to preschool in the fall. Banner's been enjoying the extra time outside too!

E and I went on a field trip in the afternoon and visited a friend's empty demoed house to see what it looked like before it was torn down the next day! We got to see some cute barn kittens too.

The weather's starting to get hot, and so we brought out the water table for the first time this year and it was a big success, even for E at almost 7 - lots of experiments to do with it!

Friday May 22nd

E and I had a nice more snuggle in bed listening to the Magic Flute music before we started our day. Andrew's work gave them an additional holiday today, and so Andrew's dad came up (he took some measurements for house projects) and the two of them went on a mountain bike ride nearby which was really emotionally energizing for Andrew. It's something he loves to do, but because of having a second baby and then having some ongoing knee problems, he hasn't been for 3-4 years!

While they were off biking, the boys and I had lunch and E caught up on some interesting school assignments and then when Andrew got back we all did some gardening and got started on spreading the mulch we had delivered the previous week. Side note: I love when T randomly decides he needs to pet Banner.

Saturday May 23rd

We went up to take a look at a promising cottage that's listing had expired so wasn't technically on the market. We really loved everything about, but were feeling a bit hesitant about the whole thing and decided we needed to take a few days to make any decisions. So the yard work continued! And E put our sandbox, free from a friend, in place in our backyard (spoiler: it soon became a pool instead).

As I stated at the beginning, I've been all over the map with emotions and energy levels, but today I accomplished something! I fixed T's sleepers (one better than the other) that had been ripped but were otherwise still fine. I love extending the life on clothes for the kids! I also gave E some new pajamas as he's growing so fast and didn't have any short-sleeved / non-fuzzy options in his size. SNNNROAR!

Sunday May 24th

Andrew taking my terrible headache in to consideration, took the boys outside for the morning and moved hostas and ferns and cut the lawn while I attended online church. But I soon got outside in to the beautiful day!

I love photos of my kids in hats with shaggy hair (E's is even curling a bit at the bottom).

T was in full adventure mode today, exploring the hill and tying the wagons together to be pulled around the yard.

While Andrew was moving plants around at the front of the house and mulching under trees, I weeded this entire over grown circle garden in the back. And then I found some shade in the garage to take a break! It was a scorcher!

Monday May 25th

I had a lot of work to do today (online admin work for financial psychologist, VBS coordination volunteerwork, coordinating E's School Council meeting and following up on a few items from the last meeting) and I also attended an hour long parenting Zoom call about PLAY put on by a local child psychologist. So not a lot of photos today, and lots of independent play for both boys. E really enjoyed playing with our electric keyboard today and T listened to a ton of books on CD.

E is still having occasional scouting meetings as well as working on assignments on Google Classroom for a Jamboree badge. I'm really thankful for both the video calls and the creative ideas to have him learning about the outdoors and still engaging with it.

Tuesday May 26th

Another scorcher of a day! Loving the variety of weather that spring brings as it seems to keep my kids interested in playing outside. Snow a couple weeks ago, great! Build a snowman. Boiling hot day, great! Play in the water. Regular spring day, great! Do some gardening and dig for worms. Rainy spring day, great! Play some Wii or watch a movie (okay, that last one is inside).

Wednesday May 27th

Yesterday and today were also big days for online party preparations for the upcoming Sunday party. The boys played outside on the playset and in the water (supervised by Andrew) while I ran some last minute errands. When I got back, they self-selected to individual play and E played with some playmobil and T (you guessed it!) listened to books on CD, and then they played together up in T's room aka "nest."

After lunch E and I went to our friend and baker extraordinaire, Melinda's house to pick up 8 cupcakes and then we did our first round of cupcake and loot bag deliveries to his friends from school. Then we came home, worked on some school work, had a much needed quiet time, and then went back out on deliveries! It was really nice to see his friends from a distance and I think got them all excited for Sunday's online party.

E is getting older in more ways than just growing taller! I had forgotten to talk to him about the likelihood that he wouldn't get presents from his friends, but he did a solid job himself in not asking for a present or making it awkward at all. However, a few of his friends did get him gifts which was sweet and he couldn't contain his excitement.

Thursday May 28th

This morning was house clean-up. We had a visit from my parents (wore masks and kept a safe distance) and it was nice to have them here. They brought some plants and a present for E and we got fish 'n chips take out for dinner!

Friday May 29th

E had a video call with some online games with our friends in Australia (where it was already E's birthday). T wanted to sing and make up silly songs non-stop in the morning but we managed to get outside to play in the morning as the afternoon called for rain. And Andrew finished staking in the playset so we can now use the swings!

A fun activity I haven't mentioned for a while that we've been doing all month is the Family BINGO put on by our local library. It has simple fun activities and then each marked off square becomes an entry in a draw. I submitted May's calendar today so I wouldn't forget!

Saturday May 30th

We started E's birthday off waking him up to a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday in bed and a breakfast of waffles. Then we sent him off on a hunt around the house for his gifts, which included pajamas, shorts, books, a small playmobil set, an electricity kit, and a throwback to my childhood - a skip-it!

Playing on the birthday theme, we took the bit you sing after Happy Birthday and turned it in to our clues (are you one, are you two, etc. STOP). Here are our clues:

T handed E the first clue and then each gift had a subsequent clue in it.

Are You One? Look in the firewood.

Are You Two? Where do our guests shower?

Are You Three? Let's play a record.

Are You Four? Check under your sink.

Are You Five? Dry some clothes.

Are You Six? Play some Wii.

Are You Seven? How about a puzzle or game?

STOP! (was in the last gift)

After presents, we spent some time playing outside and Andrew finished off the front garden bed we'd been working on for a week. Before was 6 of the same exact bushes and after we took out two, we added in 5 variegated hostas, three sedum and an anemone that I'm hoping will survive.. Even though it's all still basically green, I think the variety in shades and textures makes it look more interesting. And the mulch is the finishing touch!

My sister and her family came up for an outdoor, stay separated, don't touch visit. Which was really nice for E. Not sure if anything can top the ice cream cake though!