The Post-Christmas Post

 Merry mid-week what day is it? My family has asked this countless times in the past week. Last week Chad & I were trying to figure out what day of the week Boxing day was going to be, and it took us about 10 minutes to pin that one down.  With all the church services, and no school, every day feels like Sunday, or Saturday.... or is it Thursday? My Google now tells me both the date, and the day of the week in my morning routine!

We had a pretty good Christmas.  We are used to not seeing family over the holidays, although the last few years we were close enough to my parents that they'd usually come up for Christmas.  This year it felt weird since we are close enough to see Chad's family, but we weren't allowed to see them. We are doing lots of Zooms instead, which is better than nothing, but we can't wait to get together with family & friends... whenever that will be allowed again.

With Chad being busy with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, & Sunday church we were still pretty busy.  Because of the tighter restrictions we have to sign up to attend church in person, and I did not remember to do so before all the Christmas services got filled, so we waved Chad off, & watched them from home.  That was definitely a weird feeling!

Then on Christmas day we opened our gifts.  Did I take any pictures? Nope, not a single one.  Asher's first gift was a WaterPik. He said, "This is a terrible present!" (Sums up 2020 pretty well though!)  I told him, "It can only get better from here!"  We got lots of new books to read which  everyone was happy about.

I bought myself some really nice bunny slippers, wrapped them up, and boy, was I delighted to open them! Unfortunately they were too small, so Chancery is happy, and I have cold feet!  Chad said that's what I deserve for buying myself a present.

The kids don't go back to school until Jan 11, so now we will have lots of time to bake, play games, & read.  We're borrowing skates so the kids can take advantage of the ice rink that is just beside our neighbourhood, and we have lots of ski-doing that can be done on the lake. I'm appointing myself the hot chocolate maker so I can stay in the warm house!

Cease and Desist

Today I was talking to Mr. G after church about transit engineers.  Now, to me, "Transit Engineer" could have 2 meanings... The first would be, "a person who plans & designs for transit", the second, "a person who drives transit, like a train driver". So I asked which type of engineer he was referring to, & he informed me that Transit Engineers are only the former, in Canada, & the latter is a "driver".  If a person who drives were to publish a paper, for instance, & call themselves an "engineer", they'd get a cease & desist letter.  It was an enlightening conversation!

Another friend, Miss K, walked up & handed me some cash for some vases I picked up at a thrift store for her, & we were discussing how many more they still needed for an upcoming event.  I told her, "I'll keep looking for them until you tell me to decease."  A moment later I realized I had messed up the 'cease & desist' phrase!

Little Chef

Today Chancery wanted grilled cheese for lunch, & since she's 10, I decided she could make it herself.  After complaining that she didn't know how to cook, I gave her step-by-step instructions, & the sandwiches were successfully made.  As she sat down at the table I heard her tell Asher, "I'm going to marry a man who can cook everything, because I really hate cooking!"

Church Challenges!

Last Sunday morning after church I picked up a cup of coffee, added my cream & sugar, & walked over to "my spot".  (Yes, I have a certain spot where I stand, it's just off to the side, people know where to find me, & I find it easier to hear what people are saying to me)

I lifted my little mug to take my first sip & noticed there was a bit of lipstick on the cup (which couldn't have been mine!), so I decided to wipe it off, & turn the cup to drink from the other side.  I turned it around to discover MORE lipstick!  At that point I couldn't handle it anymore, I don't even WEAR lipstick 90% of the time! So I returned the full cup of coffee to the kitchen & sought out a new cup of coffee & started the whole process over with less lipstick!

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During offering time I handed each of the kids a quarter.  Asher handed his back to me & whispered, "I can't put this one in, it's a special one!"

I took the quarter back & sorted through my wallet for a 'regular' coin for him to donate instead.  I was about to put the fancy quarter in my pocket to take home & add to my special coin jar.

Chancery then leaned over & said, "I want to see it!"

I handed the special quarter to Chancery, & just then the offering basket came by & Chancery put the special quarter in!

....so, I reached in & grabbed it back out!

I thought I was in the clear until a man sitting behind me leaned forward & said, "If you're that hard up for cash I could loan you some!"

December Mail

Chancery & I were walking up the street this afternoon.  I had just gotten the mail from the mailbox, & Chancery asked, "Did we get any mail?"

Me: "Yes, three pieces."

Chancery: "Is it all for us?"

We still get mail for the people who used to live here, so it was a valid question.

Me: "Yes, it's all for us."

Chancery: "Is it our first Christmas card?"

Me: "Nope, it's bills."

At that point we were passing a neighbour who was shovelling her driveway.  "That's all I got too," she said.

Chancery: "Maybe tomorrow a card will come!"

Fair Days & Pizza Ranch!

 We decided it was time to head to the fair on the last day of it.  We should have gone sooner, but we were busy with other things.  The bouncy castle & other kids stuff was closed, but the kids all had fun seeing & petting the animals.

Apple is first prize!

Asher is not crying.  He is baaing like sheep!

Antie Brenda became really popular once she asked to hold a bunny!

We saw a girl milking a goat, & it wasn't long before all the kids tried their hand at it!

Noodle & Asher are discussing whether or not this pig is Wilbur.

It's hard to tell since there was no spiderweb nearby. 

Chancery was showing Jelly & Aardvark that petting horses is nothing be afraid of.

Uncle Kurt doesn't look so sure. 

We headed to Pizza Ranch for dinner for pizza buffet.  It was the first time Noodle & Jelly had been to an all you can eat buffet, & they really enjoyed it!

 "You mean I can go back & get more pizza all by myself?"

"I can get my own ice cream?"

It might be enough of a pull to get them to go to Dordt College!

We finished up by walking through the mall, & the kids were given pennies for the charity funnel.

On our way back to the cars Noodle said, "I thought we were going to a mall!"

Auntie Brenda said, "That was the mall, honey!"

Noodle: "Really? but it was so small!"

Devil's Tower

Day two we drove from Missoula to Gillette, Wyoming.  Just another day on the road,  We tried to stop in Buffalo, but the hotels were all full because it was "Longmire Days".  We had no clue what that meant, apparently we are not up on our Netflix, so we pressed on.

Day three started with Starbucks, then on to Devil's Tower which I had never been to before.  It is a ways off the interstate, which is why I'd never been there, it just isn't the most convenient place to stop, so you have to make it a destination!

Here we are getting our first glimpse of it.

Asher is getting a granola bar.  Priorities!

 We made it!

The first bit of the trail, you are allowed to go 'bouldering' below the tree line.  The kids had a great time after being in the truck for 2 solid days!

We hiked all around the tower, choosing the short trail.  It was a pretty hot day, & when we were almost at the end of the trail, Chancery declared, "Sheeshamoly, I hate hiking!"  Good times were had by all.

We did see some wildlife along the way.  There was a deer on the trail & we crept quietly towards it, & managed to snap this photo of the kids with it.

 On our way out of the park we saw a field full of prairie dogs, which the kids had never seen before.  I agreed they were cute, then told them all the reasons they are a menace.  That's the farm girl in me coming out!

We carried on our way & made it to Oacoma, South Dakota for the night.  We enjoyed dinner at Al's Oasis, another place I'd never been, seems like a smaller version of Wall Drug.

Closer Than He Thinks....

The kids & I just got back from spending 10 days with my parents, & as I was putting Asher to bed last night he got a big confused...

Asher: "Goodnight.  I love you, Gra.... Mummy!"

Me: "Grandma?  Just how old do you think I am?"

Asher: "Forty!  HA HA HA!"

He said it like 40 was outrageously old, but he's not that far off the truth!

What's For Dinner?

I'm having a conversation I don't understand. We are having pulled pork buns for dinner.  Asher keeps asking if we can make sloppy joes out of them...

Me: "How would we do that?"


A:  "Put it on a bun."

Me:  "We are having pulled pork buns... On buns."


A:  "I KNOW that! I'm asking if we can make sloppy joes out of them!"


Me: "well sloppy joes are different meat in a different sauce."


A: "Can we MAKE sloppy joes with them?"

Me: "If you mean put them on buns, then yes, we can do that."

A:  "No, I want to make them into sloppy joes!"

Me: "Pulled pork is pork, in BBQ sauce, on a bun.  Sloppy Joes are ground beef, in tomato sauce, on a bun.  So, no, you can't make pork into ground beef."

A: "That's not what I'm asking!"

Me:  "I don't understand what you are asking."

A:  (Speaking slowly & loudly) "I. want. to. make. them. into. sloppy joes!"

Me: "Ok, I will give you a bun with pulled pork on it, & you can do whatever you want with it.  Is that what you want me to say?"

A: "Yes!"


I am very curious to see what he does with it to make pulled pork into sloppy joes.  It was clearly beyond my comprehension!

Christmas With The Folks

Living in BC has a few perks.  One big one is that we are only 4 hours from my parents.  So, for the first time in 9 years, we got to spend the holidays together!  We headed down on Christmas day, & had a nice meal around the dining room table on china plates, & crystal, complete with wine for the adults, & sparkling cider (for me, the kids don't like sparkly drinks)!

On Boxing day we opened our gifts, & the kids were delighted about the cereal tradition that lives on!

 Who wouldn't be excited about Christmas Crunch?

 Chancery was excited about getting the entire boxed set of Roald Dahl books.  "I love these books!"

PChad got some London Tea.  It's always a bit of an experiment if the tea will be any good.  Last year I got him some really cute tins of tea & the tea in them was gross, but the tins were super cute!  Hopefully this box is good tea!

Asher opened Inside out, which we have seen a few times & is a very fitting film for our family in the midst of our transition. 

This was the highlight of the day.  Grandma opened a gift card to a restaurant & the card said, "Will you go on a date with me?"

Grandma replied, "Yes I will!"

To which Asher replied, "It's not from me!  It's from Grandpa!"

On Sunday we went to my parents church, & the new pastor there is a friend of ours from seminary.  Pastor Jacob's wife, Kami, is one of my best friends.  She & I were pregnant with our first kids at the same time, & got to spend the first year of being new moms together.  After church they came to my parents house for lunch & we spent the afternoon catching up & enjoying each others' company.  We do not get a chance to see each other very often, so it was nice to get to be together most of the day.

Monday we all headed up to an extended family Christmas celebration with cousins from near & far.  My cousin from Hawaii was visiting with her son, as well as a lot of local cousins, & we had a nice evening despite not playing a single round of Dutch Blitz.  We must be getting older!

Then Grandma & Grandpa left with Asher & Chancery to go back home, & PChad & I went back to BC.  Grandma & Grandpa had always said they wanted to spend more time with the grandkids, so we let them have them for a whole week!

Idle Threats

Last night PChad had a meeting, so I put the kids to bed.  Asher knows that once he's in bed, he needs to be quiet, & if he calls out we usually ignore him because he will just keep talking if he knows he has a willing audience.  So, when a few minutes later I heard him calling for me, I did not answer.

He was persistent though, & after awhile decided to change tactics, "Mummy!  Are you being rude & ignoring me? ... Mu-mmy!  Well, I guess I will just have to turn my light on & read then!"

(We have also discussed that he may not read at night, & have removed his bedside lamp because the temptation was just too great)

"I'm going to read now, & I might just read all night!"

I wasn't too concerned that he would actually do it because he knows he'd be in big trouble.  But after a few more minutes he couldn't take it any longer.  He came out of his room to tell me, "My arm really itches & I need some lotion!"

First Day in Another New School

Asher started grade 4 & Chancery started grade 2 today.  This is the third new school they have been to since starting Kindergarten, going from French Immersion, to French, to English again.  I'm a bit relieved to be able to understand all of the newsletters again!  I guess you could say all the changes in the past few years were just to make it not seem so strange for them to go to another new school (good planning, eh?), not that it was intentional, that's just the way it worked out.

It was a bit of a weird morning.  The kids only had a half day today, so they didn't need lunches.  Because of that I totally forgot about snacks!  Fortunately, they made new friends who were generous enough to share!  We were ready about an hour before we needed to leave the house, so we played games for awhile, & totally forgot to take first day of school pictures (tomorrow is the first full day, so we'll go with that... if I can remember)!

When we had gone to visit the school, the teachers had not decided where everyone would sit, so I asked the kids where their seats were after they came home...

Chancery: "I got to sit in my first favourite seat that I chose when I went to school the first time!"

Asher: "I got to choose, but a lot of the seats were already taken, so I got to sit in my fourth favourite seat.  The one that was all alone in the back row.  But then I made a friend, & I wanted to sit by him, so I moved my pupitre to beside him!"


Me: "Did you ask the teacher if that was ok?"

Asher: "Yes, & she said it was!"

I love that they are making friends already, & that Asher still thinks in French sometimes.  I hope he doesn't lose that now that mostly everything is English.  Although in grade 4, they start learning French at this school, so there is hope!

Final Day in the Van

Our last day of driving took us right into smoke & clouds. It was wierdly dark at 11 in the morning. I told Asher at one point to look for forest fires (he was claiming to be bored), after an hour he asked, "Is it ok if I stop looking for fires now?" There was plenty of smoke, but no fires spotted!

I think Digby was getting bored of all the driving as well.  This is how he chose to sit for quite awhile, & if we moved him, he'd just readjust back to this position!

We made it to BC after 3 weeks of travel, & were welcomed by a giant wind storm which knocked the power out for 2 or more days.  Church was cancelled due to no electricity, but we have gotten power back, & have settled into the place we are staying.  PChad started his new job, the kids start school next week, & then it's time to look for a new house!

Age Gap

Asher & Chancery were talking about being teenagers, & adults, & where you make the different distinctions...

C: "I'm almost a teenager."

A: "No, you have to be 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, or 19 to be a teenager."

C: "Yeah, & when you are 20 you become a parent."

Me: "You can become a parent at any age.  You become a parent when you have a kid, not when you turn a certain age."

A: "When you are 20 you are a young lady, or a young man, & when you are 30, you are just a lady, or man."

Me: "Do you think I am a young lady, or a lady?"

A: "You are a parent!"

C: "Yeah, you're a mum!"

I guess being a parent sweeps you out of the other categories!

Crime & Punishment

Yesterday Chancery got a time-out, & she stomped her way to the stairs for her 6 minute punishment.  When it was over, I told her to come & talk to me.

Chancery: “Do you forgive me, Mummy?”

Me: “Yes, I forgive you.  Will you try not to do that again?”

Chancery: “Yes, I’ll try not to do that again… Are all of my 6 minutes over?”

Me: “Yes.”

Chancery: “Six minutes is quick!”

Me: “Should I give you longer time-outs?  I’ll have to give you another minute when you turn 7, but should I just start giving you longer ones now?”

Chancery: “Well, when I turn 7, you can give me 8 minutes then, ok?”

Me: “Well, we’ll try 7 minutes & see how it goes.”


Chancery: “Ok, I just like asking if you’ll forgive me at the end of them.”

Definition Please

I’m not sure how it got brought up, but the other day at breakfast someone said they were going to ‘Hook Up’ with someone.  PChad said, “Well, that isn’t a good thing to do, so you shouldn’t do that.”

 

Asher: “Why, what does it mean?”

 

I listened intently, wondering how this conversation was going to go…

 

PChad: “It means a man & a lady who aren’t married, trying to make a baby together.”

 

Asher: “But they can’t!  You need a mommy & a daddy to make a baby!”

 

PChad: “Well, it means they are doing something they aren’t supposed to do before they are married.”

 

There was a brief moment of silence, then Asher said, “My brain is fizzing.”

 

Then the older boys admitted they had no idea that that is what ‘Hooking Up’ meant.  They thought it meant to meet up with some friends.  That demonstrates how important it is to fully understand slang before you go around using it!

Doggie Dreams

Digby sleeps in PChad & my room, & often during the night Digby dreams.  He makes little ‘bruff, bruff’ sounds which are cute, but if they go on too long, can be annoying since they keep me from sleeping.  PChad has always been a hard sleeper, & is never really bothered by Digby’s dreams.

 

The other night Digby was having some loud dreams, & barking full on.  At breakfast PChad & I were telling the kids about his loud barking in the night, & Chancery asked, “Did you hear it too, Daddy?”

 

PChad: “Yes, it was pretty loud.”

 

Chancery: “Wow! It must have been to wake you up!”

Asher’s Interview

Now it’s Asher’s turn for the same questions!

 

What is your favourite colour? Purple

What is your favourite toy? Trains, because I can change the tracks & make it different

What is your favourite food? Gum & Candy

What is your favourite tv show? Slugterra

What is your favourite outfit? Calgary Flames Shirt

What is your favourite game? Sorry & Blockus

What is your favourite animal? Cheetah

What is your favourite song? “Everything is Awesome!!”

What is your favourite book?  “Harry Potter”

Who is your best friend? Katie (Girl Next door) & Ammar (from school)

What is your favourite thing to do outside?  Climb Trees & Honk the bike horn from the top of the tree

What is your favourite drink? Cranberry Juice

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Nothing

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Fireman, or Police Officer

Chancery’s Interview

A friend recently posted some questions she asked her son on his birthday, & I have always loved this idea, but somehow have never done it.  So I stole her questions, & asked my kids!

 

What is your favourite colour? Pink

What is your favourite toy? Polly Pockets

What is your favourite food? Mac & Cheese

What is your favourite tv show? Slugterra

What is your favourite outfit? Pink Sparkly Dress

What is your favourite game? Hide & Seek

What is your favourite animal? Lion

What is your favourite song? “Let It Go”

What is your favourite book?  “I’m Too Big/Je Suis Trop Gros”

Who is your best friend? Katie (Girl Next door) & Taleen (from school)

What is your favourite thing to do outside?  Climbing Trees

What is your favourite drink? Fruit & Veggie Juice

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Ginger (Stuffed Dog) & Pink Blanket

What do you want to be when you grow up? An Artist

Teeth are Dropping Like Flies

Asher lost his 6th tooth the other day.  He asked me at dinnertime if I had noticed, but I had not.  “Did you just rip it out?” I asked.

 

“Sort of,” her replied.  Then went on to explain, “I was playing with Lego, & there were 2 pieces that were stuck together.  I tried to get them apart with my teeth, but I accidently tried with my sore tooth, & it got really wiggly & started to bleed!  So I took it out!”