Gooooooooooooood FRIDAY!

The only thing better than a Grammie Friday is Murray's vacation day Friday! The kids were pretty excited to have him home all day. They ran him through every princess/mermaid/peter pan/etc drama they could think of. By lunch time he was begging me to give him a job so he'd have something else he "had" to do. It's so hard to be in demand!

After lunch we braved the crazy wind & went outside for awhile. Murray had escaped and gone out ahead of us to start shovelling the driveway. By the time I got all three kids ready, he was almost done as there were just some drifts in a few places. Unfortunately all my efforts soon went to waste when the winds got even worse & Lovey & Sweetie bailed to go back inside.

Honey stayed out with me and we dug our own "Cave of Wonders" (Aladdin movie). We dug & dug and finally we were both able to crawl inside & escape the windy cold. She thought that was GREAT. We stayed out there an extra hour and she wasn't in any hurry to leave. Finally around 4:15 I said it was time to go in. We'd been out for almost an hour and a half. By this point the C.O.W. was getting too hard to dig out with the shovel anymore and my butt was getting cold & wet from sitting on the edge of the cave to reach in. I need to chip away with something smaller & scoop it out in a bucket now I think. She still wasn't interested in going in so I gave her a few more minutes and then we called it quits.

For our Good Friday supper we had fish & chips! It sounded good on the menu plan & was yummy going down. But that grease doesn't feel so great now...

Murray got our taxes done tonight so that was exciting! On the downside, it would seem (especially in MY opinion) that I am grossly underpaid. My income is just barely over $4000 and that includes the gov't child care benefit. On the up side, there's a new deduction for kids under 18 that gave us a $6000 break (although I'm not sure we're really saving money there in the long run & I don't think we'll go for the $8000 break).

Easter Party!

It was party time again at playgroup & the kids were psyched for it. We were even EARLY for playgroup, practically unheard of for us. We're consistent 10:15-10:20'ers. Nicolle had all the toys set up already & was getting the cupcake decorating materials together. I gathered all the Easter treats & went in to hide them around the sanctuary.

All the kids were anxious to get in there & fill up their little bags & they cleaned that place out in a hurry! It was fun & a good chance for people to have a little tour of our beautiful church under the guise of a kids' event! Carla, Nicolle & I expect to see you back in there on a Sunday am SOON! ; )

Once they gathered up their loot, we went back downstairs to inhale it & to get at the cupcakes. The decorating distracted them enough that I was able to tuck away their treat bags before they actually got too far into the sugar. Although, they loaded up those cupcakes with lots of icing & candies! At one point Honey came over to me, barely able to talk she had such a big wad of gummy bunnies in there!!! LOL

After cupcakes we worked on a craft I'd brought. The kids made little necklaces with a cross & some beads strung on them. They also decorated a bit with glitter glue (hopefully not too sacrilegious!). Somehow Honey's got lost or taken by mistake and she was VERY upset. She kept saying "But I put the "H" on it! Why is it gone??" Luckily there were lots leftover so we can make her another one.

With all the activity, playgroup was over before we knew it & we had to head home. I'd gotten a very exciting call yesterday. Shirley's back from visiting her family and wanted to come visit. We managed to get lunch mostly finished before she got there. The kids were excited to see her! and she'd brought them some very large gift bags so that probably worked in her favour as well.

Last night I told Murray that Shirley was coming & he told me about a conversation he'd had with the girls about the days of the week awhile ago.

M: what's your favourite day?

Lovey: mine's Friday because Grammie comes! (I think this was Honey's answer as well)

Sweetie: I love Thursday because we see Shirley.

I think someone should have thrown in "everyday with Mumma!!!" but oh well. ; )

We're very blessed to have so many people love our kids & want to be involved with them. Shirley's been visiting & playing with them since they were just a couple months old. She's been away helping some sick family members & hasn't been around since before November I think. She had really missed them! They had a great afternoon playing with her & dressing up for her & they got her to be the girl prince to kiss them awake from the evil spells... and many other games plus she read a few stories too. Old Nanny better get home soon, she's got some serious competition here!! : )))) When is that anyway? I hope you're not waiting for the snow to melt or you might have to stay in Florida til July!

Supper tonight was a bit rushed as I had to be back at church for 6pm. I'm doing a new book study "Lord, I Want to Know You" & we had to meet early as Holy Week Service is at 7pm every night this week. The study is looking interesting & should be pretty informative. I enjoy getting to know the other women in the congregation & I'm learning more about the bible so it's all good! I've been trying to read more of the bible. I'll never catch up to Murray of course but his knowledge is so impressive! I feel like I haven't really learned much since Sunday school and my kids pretty much know all those stories now. I think I should be just a little ahead of them for a bit longer at least. I'm working on a "read the bible in a year" website but I've fallen behind schedule by almost 2 weeks. It might turn into a "year and a half" project for me! Well speaking of which... better get to that & then turn in!

Sweetie? Telephone! It's FRANCE...

they want their runway model back!!!!!!!!



We got home from playgroup & I was checking messages and was gone about 2 minutes. Within that time, she managed to ditch the playgroup clothes she had on & put together this ummm errr gown? ensemble? and was ready to greet me at the top of the stairs. Prom night should be an interesting sight around here in 2022 or perhaps there's a future for her in fashion design???

Fence Hoppin'

Yep, our snow really is that high. Our fence is now a $4000 useless lawn ornament (assuming there's still a lawn under there that is). Murphy can hop in and out easily as can the neighbour's dogs if they so desire. I'm a little concerned (because if I didn't have something completely random & unlikely to worry about, I just wouldn't be me) that one of the coyotes is going to come after Murphy some night & we'll have a bad scene in the yard.... and what if it got in the HOUSE? How would I get it out? Could I get all the kids & lock ourselves into a room before it started tearing us to shreds? What if there were a PACK of coyotes in the house? How long would it take 911 to get help out to us? Does 911 handle wildlife emergencies????? Just a few minor issues I struggle with at these peak snowfall times! I think they have medication for my condition, I just haven't looked into it.

We did a lot of prep for playgroup tomorrow, big Easter party! So the girls helped me bake cupcakes and stuff some plaster Easter eggs with candy for the hunt in the sanctuary. They love it when I have jobs for them to "help" me with. Nothing gets their attention like a "who wants to help me with..." I know I should enjoy this while it lasts, it probably peters out soon huh? They wanted to make my bed again today and still seemed to think this was a blast. Who am I to rain on their parade. Let them have their fun I say!

Eventually, I managed to get them outside. Sweetie had many issues with many pairs of socks but after her sisters went outside without her & I kept leaving her at the top of the stairs to deal with her trauma while I went outside to keep an eye on the other two, she eventually pulled it together & got her gear on & joined us outside. As soon as she's ready & out the door, she's generally happy as a clam, always leaving me wondering (while banging my head against a wall somewhere) WHY we have to have a knock down battle about getting ready to go out in the first place when she obviously LOVES to play out there!

The girls think it's hilarious to climb back & forth over the fence rail! Today they were doing 'tricks' and wanted me to take a picture. I told them I couldn't because I'd left the camera inside. They snorted in derision and said "no you didn't! we know it's under your coat Mumma!" I unzipped & showed them that although seemingly unbelievable, I was in fact, sans camera. They quickly set me straight & promptly sent me in to fetch it. They obviously feel that all events big & small are worth preserving forever.

Before we got outside, Honey decided she should take a turn on the other side of the lens & get some shots of her own. I'm so used to handling & holding the camera that it's like wearing my glasses. Always there & easy to handle. Not so when you're 3½! In her tiny hands, it looked huge, heavy & awkward. She had a hard time holding it up to her eye & then found it tricky to look through the viewfinder & keeping it steady at the same time. Then throw in working the shutter and we'd just about lost her. She did manage a couple of shots though & I was impressed, especially since she was struggling to hang on to it (I had the neck strap on her just in case!). I don't imagine framing the composition was an easy task! She took her first one, then looked at the LCD and said "oh. I missed Sweetie a little bit..." then asked to do it again & another and another until finally I had to cut her off. I'm the photographer around here! If I have to let all 3 of them have equal turns with my camera..... well the mere thought of that left me a little shaky!

Bye Bye Bonny Bye Bye!

We have officially been kicked out of errr I mean "graduated" out of Early Intervention! Today was our last visit from Bonny and she took pity on my activity-challenged-ness and left a book full of ideas for crafts & ideas. Bah! as if that could ever replace HER! Nice try though and not a bad souvenir : )

Early Intervention was a life saver in the early days, probably more for my sanity than ever any concern over the girls' development. They were pretty much always on target for the usual milestones. Having a definite date with Bonny on the calendar always gave me something to look forward to. I knew she'd teach me something new that we could do to break up the cabin fever & her visits gave me contact with the outside world. If it weren't for her, I know I never would have attempted taking the girls out for any sorts of classes or playgroup. She was the one who got us going to music classes & even came with me for the first one, just to show me it could be done. Once I knew this was possible, it really opened things up for us.

For the first year or so, we went nowhere. We didn't do any of the "mommy & me" classes or activities that I saw most of my friends do with their kids & that I'd looked forward to doing when I had my own baby. We were home. Alllllll the time. Day in, day out, weeks on end. Practically no social outings whatsoever. "But KELLY! you had THREE! you can't do stuff like THAT with THREE BABIES!!!!" I know this. I realize it really wasn't possible but it doesn't mean that I didn't want that normalcy all the same. They're not likely to grow up & reflect on this deprivation but I still feel a bit ripped off in that department. However, I am so incredibly rich in other areas that I'm going to just let that one go. : )))

So thanks to Bonny's efforts, we started going to music (a free program at that, girl after my own heart!). Once I got into the swing of that, I got braver & tackled going to playgroup and haven't looked back.

Thank you Bonny for teaching me, nudging me when I needed it & supplying endless information and suggestions on a multitude of topics! Not to mention the pudding painting party!

Ever wonder what they do with the stickers you give them after you leave? Well now you know!

Slip Slidin' Awaaaaaaaay!

Another sunshiney day! We are loving the brightness & warmth & the girls are actually keen to go outside again. We decided to go for a walk down the road & see if Tulip wanted to play with us and she was also keen for some outdoor fun. First they showed us their new pets, two turkeys! Looks like they're pretty well set for Thanksgiving this year & if things go really well with those 2, they could be set for life (in the turkey dept anyway).






We tried some sledding on the hill but there was too much loose snow on top and the runners of the sleds weren't getting it packed down much & the kids got bored when the rides fizzled out after a few feet. They were pretty happy just running around in the field though so that's good too. Anything that involves sunlight, fresh air & exercise can't be bad! Murphy was pretty happy too, there were two other dogs to follow around and chase after. We also did some exploring around & walked on the pond. Penny dug down to show the girls the ice under all the snow because they were having trouble figuring out where the pond was!

After all the trouble getting the sleds going, we discovered that the snowbanks in the driveway were the perfect spot. They actually did better sliding on their bums so the sleds weren't even needed.

We played outside for a couple of hours before Honey finally got her heart's desire & got to go inside & get at Tulip's toys! It was getting close to supper & I needed to get some dessert started (I figured there should be some redeeming feature when serving leftovers!) so Penny told me to leave the kids & run home for a few minutes. I debated that for awhile, it sounded good, seemed wrong, sounded good, seemed not too bad, sounded good, seemed ok, sounded good, seemed like a great idea! So I took her car home, got supper & the dessert all prepped & was back down there in a little over half an hour, much to my girls' disappointment! While I was gone they'd gotten to hold a lizard, watch the Nemo fish in the saltwater tank, dress some dolls & feed Baby Alive (who promptly had an 'accident' all over the couch, oops!) Needless to say they weren't too keen on going home & we ended up having a late supper.

Maid Service!

I was downstairs this morning checking email when Honey & Sweetie came looking for me. They had a surprise they said. All 3 of them had helped to make my bed! I was definitely surprised and even more so when I found they'd even done it quite well! I have no idea what brought that on, they've never done it before & have never been asked to. (their own beds yes but I usually manage mine!) They were soooooo pleased & proud of their good deed. I wonder how much enthusiasm I'd have to muster to get this kind of service every day?????? Probably more than would be required to actually make it myself! LOL

Palm Sunday

We managed to get to church on time although I was a bit later than I was supposed to be for the last run through of the cantata. (9:45 just isn't reasonable for us to arrive at church!!) Despite my lack of practice that morning, the cantata went well & people really seemed to enjoy it. I got a lot of comments that people didn't know who I was & thought I was a new member because of my new hairdo!

We had gorgeous weather again today so immediately after lunch we got everyone outside to soak up as much sunshine as possible. They didn't even fight getting their gear on today, they saw the sun & felt the warmth when we got home from church & were actually keen to go out themselves. We just played in the backyard but they enjoyed searching for treasure & trying to keep it away from the pirates who wear two eyepatches (like, how hard could that be??). We played tag, had a snowball fight & some snow wrestling before packing up to head to M&D's for supper where we had yet another delicious meal.



After supper the girls got their snowpants on again and made a run for the field with GranGrad. Lovey was hoping to find a golfball like she does in the summer time but we were skeptical. GranGrad however didn't want to disappoint her & he "helped" her find one that had somehow made it's way up through 3 feet of icepacked snow to the surface! The girls ran all over, squealing and giggling as they played hide n seek in the wells around the evergreens. We used our very best tracking skills and found them & raced them back to the car where they then climbed and slid on the snowbanks for another few minutes. (Sweetie: I wonder if I can slide down this on one foot!)


We eventually managed to get them in the car & rushed home for a late bedtime but they didn't take long to conk out. Hopefully they'll stay that way for several more hours!!!