Crib Sheet

For our soon-to-be nephew.

Flannel, for a winter baby, and double thick, so that it's harder to kick off. And slightly larger than commercial, to make it easier to tuck in!!



Now, to make some for our new baby...

Winner of the .....

"I dressed myself" Award:

Felt Lunch Bag

This is for Sweet Pea for Christmas, but Buddy liked it so much, that I need to make one for him now too!!



Lunch Bag, two slices of bread, ham & lettuce OR peanut butter & jelly, carrot, strawberries, and an oreo cookie:

All in the bag:

Ready to go!!

More Chickens?

Yes, we got more chickens.

And for the first week, they lived in the house.
Yes, seriously.

These chickens were picked up from a lady who is clearing out all her stock, so they were no charge, we just had to go get them, fast.

And, they needed to be quarantined from the other chickens. Which meant we had to build a second chicken coop, fast.

That was the tricky part.

Prospector started the coop on Monday, when we first found we were getting them, hoping to be done by Thursday, when we were picking them up. We were picking up a roof along with the chickens, that would go onto the coop.

We got the chickens on Thursday. But didn't get home until well after dark. There was no way the roof was going on that night. So we put the chickens in the dog's box, and went to sleep.

There were six new ones... four hens, and two roosters.

Do you know what time roosters wake up? 5:30. Every morning. and 6:00. and 6:30.

Since daylight savings, we get home after dark every night. So not much got done on Friday either.

at 7:00 on Saturday morning, I asked if I went and turned the light on over their cage, if they would stop cock-a-doodle-dooing, thinking it was daylight. Prospector said try it.

On Sunday at 7:30, I asked him what he wanted for breakfast (yes, we're now up to Thursday, Friday, & Saturday nights now)... The response? "The one that just cock-a-doodle-dood."

Sunday he made good progress.. but not quite enough. Monday, it was cold. Tuesday, it was raining. and Wednesday was high school info night.

Thursday morning we had a midwife appt. So he had a half hour of daylight before we left where he was able to get work done. By the time we left for the appt, a rooster & hen were out there. We figured if they were still there when we got home, it was secure. They were.

By Thursday night, he was nearly done, so even though the weather wasn't ideal, he was able to secure it enough to leave the birds out overnight.

So in total, they spent seven nights here:

 

 

Still to be completed, egg boxes, weather proofing, trap door, human door. But at least they aren't waking me up four times before I need to be up now!

Finally!

Our Chickens made us an egg!!


Of course, it was the new chickens, not the ones we've raised from chicks...

29 Weeks & 2 Days

Taken Nov 17

Santa Claus Comes Through the Toilet in Our House....

Seeing as Christmas Eve is just a month away, I thought I'd share this memory from when Chuck was younger.

Well, not anymore.

But when Chuckles was four & five, he did.

When she & her Dad moved into their new house, the summer when she was four, she was terribly concerned.  You see, the first thing that Daddy did was pull down the old chimney.  The house had been built in the 30's, and one of the conditions for insurance was that the falling down chimney be removed. 

"But Daddy, without a chimney, how is Santa Claus going to get into our house?"

So he took her around back, and showed her where the vent pipe for the bathroom came through the roof.  It was he only "chimney" that that house had.

Then he took her inside, and showed her where it went.

"I guess in our house, Santa comes through the toilet!!"

I first met Chuck two Christmases later, right after Christmas when she was five.  I'd heard him mention this whole Santa clause / Toilet thing.

As I was admiring all her new Christmas toys, I looked around.... "But Chuck, there's no chimney here... how did Santa Claus get into your house?"

"WELL!!" she says, full of enthusiasm, "In MOST houses, he come through the chimney, but in our house, he comes through the Stinky Stinky Toilet!" (she plugged her nose when she got to the 'stinky' part).

I was glad that I asked her when I did.  The next year, when we brought it up, a teacher at school had corrected her.  Santa Claus has a mouse, you see, and the mouse sneaks in and opened the door for Santa.  We were disappointed, because it was a fun family thing.  But it was fun while it lasted.

That year, she brought home reindeer food from school, in a brown paper bag.  We stuck the bag on the roof, kind of sticking out of the vent pipe.  But unfortunately, she still wouldn't go back to it.

(If you look really really closely at the lower left window pane, you can see her face in there)

Ready to go.....

My Gothic Princess & Tigger.....

'Twas the princesses last year to go this year. We dropped her at a friends house, then took our tigger back to the neighbourhood that his old daycare was in.

I have to say, they both got quite the haul.......

Buddy getting his advent Calendar ready for December.....

Chuck got her's ready too.... Mom just forgot to snap that!!

Remember....

Last year's sleepy lion??

This year, when we got to town, we had a sleepy Tigger instead.....

once he caught on that people were GIVING HIM STUFF just for showing up though.... he woke right up, and was running form door to door!!

Pumpkin Carving

Um, sister??  Why are we doing this??

Concentration...

Finished product..

You want me to stick my hand,,, where?

seriously?

Guts!

 

 

Why I am thanking God for the nesting instinct right now....

To Do before I get Too Huge to do it:

1. Clean & empty 'Crafting Area' of Computer Room. Find new location for materials.
2. Sell Drafting table from Computer Room that is no longer on Kijiji
3. Clean 'Sewing Area' of Computer Room. Find new location for materials. 
4. Sell sewing desk.
5. Clean "Guiding" drawing in computer room.  Give away relevant materials to current Guiders.
6. Empty closet in Computer Room. Find new locations for items in closet in Computer Room. Board games relocated, wrapping paper still looking for a home, Buddy's too big clothes relocated to Chuck's current room, his future room.
7. Pitch tons of crap from Computer Room
8. Burn tons of crap from Computer Room
9. Get Hubby to hang remaining drywall in Computer room, new downstairs bath, new downstairs hall closet, 2nd closet in Computer room.  Really, I'd be happy with just the drywall inside the bedroom, as it's the highest priority (at least for me) right now.
10. Mud drywall in new bedroom. Sand drywall in new bedroom. Mud drywall again.  Sand drywall again.  Prime Drywall. Maybe even paint the drywall.
11. Declare that the Computer room is no longer a computer room, and is now Master Bedroom.
12. Move Bed into Master Bedroom
13. Move Chuckles into former master bedroom.  Get new dresser, for either her or me.  Probably me, then we don't need to move my current one at all.
14. Purchase new mattress for Chuckles.  Give Buddy old mattress. Move him out of toddler bed (as it is our crib as well).  Make crib look unappealing to him, so that the transition to the big boy bed is easier.
15. Move Buddy into Chuckles current Bedroom
16. Re-set up Buddy's room as nursery. Dig rocker out of basement.
17. Make Sheets for Family Heirloom Cradle that are gender neutral. - Edited to add.... my aunt has volunteered to do this!  Or for the bassinet. Or, possibly get rid of bassinet, since I don't think we'll need both.
18. Make Halo-Type swaddler sleepsacks for thing-three, since our house gets cold overnight. Or, possibly break down & purchase Halo Sleepsacks. But I already have the material. And if I make the sleep sack, that will help with task #3 above.  Alternatively, win a Halo sleep sack from one of the ten contests I entered last week.  And hope that the contest was indeed open to Canadians, 'cause many aren't....(didn't win, too bad....)
19. Make Felt Lunch box for Buddy's Christmas present, since he liked Sweet Pea's, and thought it was for him. Maybe he'd like this for his birthday instead.....
20. Make new cloths for Bum-cleanings, since I prefer cloth to disposable. This should not be hard, I have old flannel, it needs to be cut into squares & just stitched around to prevent fraying. On second thought….Edited... mom said she'd help with this one.
21. Improve Chuck's sewing machine skills by having her work on a few 'samplers.' She can cut them into squares, and just stitch around to prevent fraying….. hmmmm……..
22. Dig out receiving blankets & wash. Luckily, most other equipment has been washed & pulled out, as the kids new 2nd cousin will be visiting Ontario from New Brunswick for December, so will be borrowing some items.

How Dad's Carve Pumpkins......

Remember Buddy's knobbly deformed pumpkin?

We think it was crossed with a gourd.



'cause cutting into that thing....was NOT fun.

Good thing Daddy came up with a solution.......

Knock Knock

Mommy: knock Knock

Buddy: Knock knock.

Mommy: who's there?

Buddy: who's there?

Mommy: Boo

Buddy: No Mommy, banana... nom nom nom......



Mommy: oh ok... knock knock

Buddy: knock knock

Mommy: who's there?

Buddy: who's there?

Mommy banana!

Buddy: *giggle fit*



Mommy: Knock knock

Buddy: banana!!!


Mommy: knock knock

Buddy: knock knock

Mommy: who's there?

Buddy *giggle fit*



I don't think he quite 'gets' it yet!!

Sitting in her favourite spot....

In the corner of the kitchen, in front of the sink

Sleepy guys.....

Adventures in Toilet Training

I really need to convince the boy, that although he can stand to pee, he really needs to sit down to take a dump.

'Cause the mess, when he gets some on his toes and then walks around the bathroom before calling for help? It's not pretty.

My Children's favourite part of Apple Season.....

Eating the peels from the apple peeler.

Whatever makes them happy I guess!!

Whenever Buddy sees the apple peeler out, he decalres that he'll "make the apples" as in, he will do the peeling!!

Our apples come from the farm about five km up the road.  so far, we've gone through two bushels this year.

Another boat

This time, the giant '0' from one of my birthday balloons.
Right after these photos were taken, he fell on it, and, well... bye bye balloon!!

First Day of School

(yes, it was two months ago. Better late than never)

(And, Buddy's first day had actually been a week earlier)

(And, her backpack is somewhere in the house. i think his in my shoulder. Which of course you can't see, since I'm taking the picture)

2nd Coop Build