Kim 365
We made plans to go to Beaver Creek with some friends last Monday, and at the last minute they were not able to join us. Already on our way out the door, I decided we would go anyway. I am so glad we did. It was such a beautiful day. For me, this is the most glorious time of year: warm sunshine, cool breeze…oh Lord, my heart is full.
Look at the colour, look at the light. It was so beautiful. So quiet.
We were provided with sunflower seeds to feed the chickadees. At first it was a very bizarre feeling when they perch on your hand, but after a few times we got the hang of it. Well, to be more accurate, everyone except Bailey got the hang of it. She usually just squealed when she felt them touch her, but she did an awesome job being the keeper of the seeds!
What a great catch, getting this bird in flight!
Contemplating. Hmmm, which one looks the best?
The boys had a competition going to see whose pile of seeds was most appealing to the birds. Markus won.
Bailey’s pile was tempting as well, and here she is, squealing with delight.
This would have been a good time to have a longer lens on the camera, but I’m happy with the way this shot turned out with all the foliage framing the bird.
How have I lived in or around Saskatoon my entire life and only been here twice? This is going to be one of my new favourite places to hang out now!
I love these kids. I love ‘doing school’ with them. I am so thankful to have days like this, these glorious days of fall, to go exploring as a family and learn together. I’m of the opinion that this is a far more interesting classroom than any four walls you could find.
The temperature threatened to dip a little too low for comfort last night, so it was time to bring in the tomatoes. I cannot believe how many there are! This is one third of the bounty I found on my plants. My four plants. I did not expect to have this many tomatoes from four plants!
Two years ago I planted tomatoes and they had blight. I ended up with one ripe tomato worth eating. One. I was so discouraged that I didn’t even plant any last year. Oh yeah, and I had a baby. I didn’t want to grow anything slightly temperamental. Well, I am hoping for better luck this year!
So long as these guys ripen and stay looking good, I will have the lovely problem of figuring out what to do with all these tomatoes. Clay votes salsa. Now I just need a foolproof recipe. Who wants a pantry full of bland salsa? Not me.
It’s the tenth, and we all know what that means, don’t we? Ten on Ten!
10:00 a.m.: Just sending a butt load of emails, cleaning out my inbox, and thus clearing mental clutter.
Homeschooling registration is complete! What a load off my shoulders. I stressed about this particular issue for months. Not an active stress, just this naggling thing that I kept postponing. Experienced homeschooling friends told me it was nothing to worry about. They were right.
11:00 a.m.: Goofy boys. I just put the little ones down for a nap so these two were cornered for a photo.
12:00 p.m.: My cup is empty, and my energy levels are running dangerously low.
I am not speaking in riddles here. Look. My cup is literally empty.
1:00 p.m: Lunch is served. Lipton chicken noodle soup, catered for a little girl with an upset stomach.
She spent the entire night in our bed, which means Clay and I slept like…parents with a kid in the bed.
2:00 p.m.: Latte o’clock. You had to know this was coming. Time to refuel!
3:00 p.m.: Poor little Bailey. You know she’s not feeling well when you have to try to talk her into watching TV.
4:00 p.m.: Deacon’s helping with the dishes? This guy definitely keeps me on my toes!
5:00 p.m.: Time to take a dose of Vitamin I. My lack of sleep is manifesting in a serious headache.
6:00 p.m.: Clay’s home and posting his 365 photo for the day.
7:00 p.m.: I finish off the day at a meeting with a bunch of ladies. Chocolate is always welcome.
Check out Ten on Ten and join in: it’s heaps of fun!
This little lady is still sporting her long hair. She didn’t end up getting it cut on Friday because she threw up an hour before her appointment. So for now, we pull the short chunks back in a clip. She’s gorgeous no matter what.
I snuck up to get this shot of her. She was busy making up a scenario with this rope for a good 15 minutes. I could hear high pitched exclamations, “Oh no! Don’t get me!” Then the rope would move and another imagined character would talk in an equally high pitch. How is it she can hang off my limbs and whine all day, and the next she can contentedly sit and play with a rope with no encouragement to do so? Maybe I need to throw out all the toys and replace them with a rope and a few refrigerator boxes. The minimalist in me is all over that idea.
I was cooking breakfast. Minding my own business. The kids were at the table doing crafts, which means they were cutting and taping, and interpreting their modern art creations. “Look Mommy, this is a Super Fish. It can fly! See, this is how it saves people and kills sharks!” I take it all in stride. “Uh huh, good job!” If I’m honest, I’m not paying a lot of attention.
“Mommy you need to come clean up my hair.”
Wait. What?
“Why, what’s wrong with your hair?” I assumed it was in her face and she needed a ponytail.
No.
In reality, I did need to actually clean up her hair because it was in clumps on the table and bench.
After I had assessed the damage and saw it was only hacked to cheek length, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I breathed another sigh of relief. I didn’t realize this until after the cut had taken place, but I had been living with dread over the day this would happen. I have heard enough stories about little girls cutting their own hair to know that it would eventually happen in our house. Now it’s over with, and it could have been much worse. No bald spots on her scalp. Whew. Dodged a bullet.
I’ll report back tomorrow with an update of her new hairdo, after she gets a cut.
When we first started considering homeschooling, one of my biggest hangups was, “There is no way I can teach a kid to read!” It turns out kids are pretty smart. Yes, really. Shocking, right? They are learning without me doing anything. While this is great, I’m not an unschooler, and I am filling in the gaps with this book. We’re only 2 lessons in, but they boys are having fun and so am I!
We made it to the lake today! We had an awesome afternoon hanging out on the beach with the kids. The boys were so thrilled to have us there to build rivers in the sand, Bailey was content to get dirty, and Deacon was the usual life of the party. I love this crew.
We had a delicious supper with Mom and Dad, bathed the two littles, got them all ready for bed (well, not Mom and Dad, they can get themselves ready!), and then hit the road with Deacon. What a great day!
Time for Ten on Ten again. I haven’t blogged in a month?! Sorry about that. I intend to get back into the swing of things soon, if only for the fact that my sister in a far away land is begging for more Deacon photos. Hi Jean!
Today began with gusto. The kids and I were planning to go camping with my mom and dad. Wyatt put in a quick call to his Daddy in the midst of packing up.
When I say quick call, I do mean quick. All I heard was, “Bye Daddy!” Click. Funny kid! This was at noon.
Princess Bailey, eating her lunch before we head out. Her cup is placed perfectly, showcasing her favourite princess: Cinderella!
Oh. Crap. 2:00pm and we are not going anywhere. Just past Martensville, the van overheated. Here we are, pulled over on the side of the road, waiting for Dad to come to the rescue.
The van is empty. Everything the kids will need for camping has been transferred to Mom and Dad’s camper, and the kids are safely tucked into Dad’s truck, ready to finally head to the lake. Clay came to rescue Deacon and I, so all the other gear has been stuffed into our car. We needed to get the van closer to Saskatoon if we wanted to get towed for free, since our CAA coverage only allows tows within 5km of the city. So…Clay manned the overheated van while Deacon and I followed in the car. We made it to Costco as planned. Whew!
Yay! The tow truck has arrived.
I can tell you where I’m not going for supper. That’s right, not Bonanza.
While Clay had some drinks with the guys from work, in honour of his brother Cody’s last day working there, I hung out with my sweet Deacon. He was so curious about our tree in the front yard (hey, I haven’t gotten around to telling you all – we finally have a tree!) and here he is getting his feet wet while we were watering.
7:00pm and off for supper at Montanas with two handsome men, one big and one small.
I was going to get a girly drink. Then I decided to order fish and chips. It just didn’t seem right to order a mojito with beer battered fish, so a Rickard’s Red it was.
What a day. I look forward to starting tomorrow off on the right foot – with freshly roasted coffee from Leven’s. We signed up for a coffee subscription, so now we get 2 pounds of coffee every month, delivered right to our door. Mmmmmm. So yummah!
