Better late than never. Here's a brief snapshot of last weekend. We finally took a break from our labours here. A whirlwind 2 day trip to Saskatoon and Humboldt.

In Saskatoon we did some shopping. Check out Joseph's new glove that he's proudly showing Catherine. His dad got a new ball glove too! Now I just have to clean up our yard so that we can play.

I always stay at the fanciest hotels when I travel. Here I am getting ready for the Latin Mass while overlooking University bridge in Saskatoon. Actually, because of a mess up the last time we stayed at this hotel, we got bumped up to a fancy package complete with a king size bed, breakfast, and passes to the zoo.

And the zoo is where we went. We made sure to take our Goddaughter Catherine (and her family) along. By zoo I mean the Saskatoon forestry farm. It was a lovely afternoon. Here Joseph and Catherine are checking out the grizzly bears.

And riding on the train that goes around the zoo. Joseph was sure to wear his monkey shirt for the day (yes, we saw monkeys there).

Overlooking a little pond.

Finally we drove on to Humboldt to attend a baptism. Actually, we did a little more than attend it. Why, we practically were the baptism! Becca and I are Godparents to Monica Perpetua! What a joyous day! I always think about how at funerals in one of the prayers the priest recalls the deceased person's day of baptism: "On the day of his/her baptism..." It's a special day that I believe we truly do not even begin to understand. Anyway, here we are.

Alas, though, I came back to endless hours of house work. It's been 12 hour days again this week. Doing what else, concrete. I perpetually smell like concrete and sweat. My cloths smell like concrete. My hair has concrete chunks in it. More details to follow... when it's finished.

Baptism by Poop

Last week we bought new couches. It was great, we walked into the local furniture store, saw exactly what we were looking for (as far as we'd pinned it down), sat on them, liked them, and bought them. They were within our budget and they got delivered for free a couple days later. 

Fast forward to this week. Yesterday, John Paul had a disastrous pooping afternoon. It was hot, so he was just wearing a diaper. He was fussy, so I'd been getting him to sleep by carrying him around in the Ergo. He finally fell asleep, I put him in his cradle, and heaved a sign of relief. 

An hour or so later, Joseph woke up and woke his brother up with his noise (of course). I picked John Paul up and sat him on the couch with Joseph. Only then did I get a whiff of something smelly. I picked him back up and realized there was poop on my arm, then up John Paul's back, then on our NEW couches.

Even that didn't seem totally bad. "Ok, I can managed to clean this off, it's just a little bit." But then I called for backup from Dan who just so happened to walk in the door. "Yep, just a minute," he replied and shut the bathroom door. No, that was exactly where I wanted to go with this growing mess of a child. So I waited, holding the poopy child as far away from me as possible.

As we were washing up John Paul, the counter, and the couch, it suddenly dawned on me that he probably had this poop before he woke up, so there must be more on his blankets. Indeed, he managed to get a nice big runny amount on his nice hand-made quilt from Grandma AND the quilt stuffed in beside his back. I was beginning to groan more and more at the mess. To top things off, I added two and two to realize it must have shot up the back of his diaper like this while he was in the Ergo. Sure enough.

At this point, I was in a little deeper than I'd like. It was going to be a lot of work to clean up all this mess. Not only that, but a few weeks before I'd had to spot clean Joseph's quilt from Grandma after it got bird poop on it and the red fabric-backing had run into the lighter front, ruining the quilt. I was sure the same would happen to John Paul's.

A quick phone call, some internet searching for "vinegar to keep fabric from running," some Pre-Spot (Melaleuca to the rescue!), and a bathtub washing later, I put three quilts in the washer, praying they'd come out clean without running. And they DID! Not only did all the poop come out of the two from John Paul's crib, but the stains in Joseph's (which I decided to try the vinegar idea on at the same time), also came out. They all look and smell as good as new! 

Our couch also looks none the worse. The only telltale sign of our disaster is a little spot on the Ergo since that can't be thrown in the wash. Yay!

Teaching is about Homework.

Can I go back to teaching already? It's so much easier than being at home working on the house. Unfortunately the ole blog has been long forgotten by me of late. Just like that last Act of Contrition where I promised to sin no more. Nevertheless, here is an update on my end.

1) Trip - We had a quick week in Ontario. We also said goodbye to the house Becca grew up in. *tear* Ok, I'm over it. Anyway the trip was good. We didn't do much, or even anything, but that was more of a request on our part. I was able to study for my upcoming exams. Becca was able to kiss each nook and cranny of the house goodbye. And, as Becca reported, we were able to do much visiting.


2) Daily Mass - A high point of going to Ontario is being able to attend daily Mass. It just doesn't happen here. In Tisdale we get two weekday Masses per week, all at the god-awful 9am time slot. Holiness is only for the retired, after all. I've said it before here, and I'll say it again, when I first met Fr. Shalla of Barry's Bay I remember telling him I was impressed that he offered Mass even on Mondays (his day off). He looked at me as if I had two heads. "But I like to say Mass." He replied, as if to say why on earth did he become a priest if he wouldn't want to say Mass everyday. We need more Fr. Shallas. Long story short, daily Mass was a huge breath of fresh air. As a bonus, Joseph got up with me every morning for it.


3) Men's Group - So St. Ann's parish in Ancaster is hopping. They have two wonderful priests who preach it like it is, and ensure reverence at Mass. The results, predictably, are that God is blessing the parish abundantly. Anyway, one of the things going on at this parish is a Saturday morning men's group. I was speaking with my Father-in-law about this, since he helps run it. Imagine over a hundred men willing to get up and pray and attend a men's group at 7am on Saturday mornings. I told him that I would not find one single guy in Tisdale to do such a thing. He balked at that suggestion, and said all you have to do is ask. But I hold firm to my word, I would not find one other man in Tisdale to do such a thing.


4) Feminization of the Liturgy - The answer, to me, is pretty clear: the feminization of the liturgy. Let's be honest, Mass is turning into a woman's place. The girl altar boys, the women running all over the sanctuary as if there could be no Mass without their business. The sappy music (also a problem for women too, I acknowledge, but it really turns men away from Mass). Being talked to from the pulpit by priests or by guest speakers who speak as if you're an idiot (men hate being belittled). The all around disappearance of manliness. Heck, even the vestments. You know, some people say that only certain men can "pull off" wearing a pink shirt. In some ways when priests and altar boys used to wearing the "more lace, more grace" style of liturgical vestments, they oozed a sense of manliness and authority. They could not only "pull off" wearing it, they made Mass somehow attractive to men. It was if deep inside guys would acknowledge "now there's a man." Not anymore. I couldn't imagine asking a guy to come check out our Mass. We need a manly Mass. Manly priests. Manly music (nothing more manly than Gregorian Chant, by the way). Manly tell-it-like-it-is preaching. When that happens, you might start to see something very unusual at Mass: men.

5) World Cup

I only watched the overtime of the final game of the soccer World Cup. This guy gets the gold medal...

... for being a baby. I believe he went down as if he was shot 5 times during that overtime. His poor white shirt had so many grass stains from rolling around so much. And that's why I don't watch soccer. That and it's boring.


6) House.

"Don't ever buy a house." Those have been my words of wisdom this summer. I've actually only owned the house for less than a week, but we got a good head start on all the work. The work will never end, I'm convinced. I mean, for instance, who on earth hooks up power to a house like this?:

The electrician said the wire connecting it was down to its last thread. And that's why, ladies and gentlemen, you should never put off having something fixed when it needs it. Yet even the day's work by the electrician required me to take off half of the siding on the south side of the house, and then patch it all back again afterwards. Everything I touch turns to work. More like it turns into a mess...

And that's the good side of the yard. Unfortunately our town charges, per weight, to dump stuff off at the landfill. As I said to the town worker on the phone: "do you have any idea how heavy concrete is?"


7) It's not all bad. It's actually very satisfying to work on my own home. And really, the main struggle is not physical but mental. Focus on little things. Each little thing is important. Thankfully I've had lots of help too. My parents and brother have been tremendous, be it consulting, lending tools, trucks, money, or even good old fashioned hard work on our house. I know we wouldn't be able to do this if we lived farther away from Nipawin.


8) A few pictures to end it:

Joseph and John Paul and the swings.

 Daddy was probably telling a funny joke.

You'll never guess who the masked man is!

Snippets: The Joys of Owning a Home and Other News

1. Our trip to Ontario is over. We're back home now. However, Joseph, John Paul, and I came home with colds. Really awful colds. They just won't go away. Poor John Paul has a plugged nose and can barely breathe some nights. I think I'm going to buy a Nosefrida.

2. We're home owners!! As of July 15th we now own our home. Dan woke up at about 12:30am that morning and the first thing that crossed his mind was "Now I own this home" with a sinking feeling. The first thing he did when he got up that morning was pick up a jackhammer and go to town on our concrete. Welcome to demo! Owning a home is so very exciting.

3. This week has mainly entailed Dan working super hard all day outside and me trying to keep things afloat inside. Both outside and inside our house look pretty disastrous right about now.

4. Dan has repeatedly told his brother Stephen and Joseph, "Never buy your own home!" He's a little serious. It's been a rough week. He started off flying through the side-walk concrete. Then the pieces really started piling up and we learned just how expensive it is to get rid of at our local dump. We weren't really thrilled with our plans for replacing our concrete "patio" with patio blocks, so we decided we'd do a little creative repurposed concrete flagstone-esque patio. Turns out it's actually a popular thing in the eco-friendly, repurposing crowd. We were all excited going to bed after we'd decided this. Bring on the concrete, we naively thought, we'll be super creative. Next day, however, Dan and Stephen discovered wire mesh and footings in the concrete "patio" as he was trying to remove it. That slowed things down a LOT and at the sight of more and more and more concrete everywhere our dreams of the night before were dashed more than a bit. As it stands, Dan will be pouring new side-walks next week with his dad (with a truck, not mixing it themselves, for those of you privy to that topic). Yay!



5. We've also had a contractor/electrician in to build us a new roof pole for our power/phone lines and bring that up to code. They got rained out today, but with any luck it should be done tomorrow. As Dan was preparing for the "worker mans", as Joseph likes to call them, he had to take a bunch of our siding off. What he found was hideous peachy coloured horizontal wood siding and pinkish vertical siding! Gross. But our house sure is protected with that original siding, plus Styrofoam, plus energy shield, plus the current vinyl siding.

6. As for inside, well, things have fared similarly. Every time I think I've gone and been productive putting some order or cleanliness in place in our home, one boy or another goes and takes me down a notch. Today I managed to vacuum and mop the kitchen/living-room areas. No sooner was it done than Joseph spilled a smoothie all over the floor. I cleaned the bathroom yesterday and caught up on all the laundry this morning. Then, Joseph went and had a #2 accident (although I'm not entirely sure if it was accidental from his point of view) in his gitch. Lots of opportunity to grow in patience and sanctity!

7. And poor John Paul! Sick babies are just sad babies. Say a prayer for my little man! From Monday through Thursday, he wanted no one but Mommy and even then my full attention and constant holding. The Ergo carrier has come in especially handy this week for the few times he would go in it and fall asleep.

BUT... lest you go away thinking we're all down and out, we're not really. We're really happy to finally get to work on our house. We have to keep our eyes on the goal, but at the same time just focus on the work that's right in front of us. And we are getting better and slowly getting more and more sleep each night. John Paul is smiling again and when that happens the world is just a better place!

 

 

Ontario Update, Part 2

We've come to our last full day in Ontario all too fast. One week is far too short a time to spend with such admirable, attentive, and adoring grandparents, aunts, and uncles. But it's been a good little visit and we hope that Grandpa and Grandma Bear will still be up for a road trip west in the fall. And what have we done? I'll give you a little peak.

 

Play. Play. Play.

Grandpa Bear has spent his week especially busy. He has dedicated his time almost exclusively to Joseph, despite a sore, busted knee. $3 is a small price to pay, or so he says, for some pretty awesome little boy toys and the priceless smile on a two-year-old's face. Joseph has been digging, boating, swimming, golfing, gardening, and very nearly the centre of attention. He has to share some of the attention with John Paul, of course, but given that his little brother sleeps more it's a pretty sweet deal.

 

As far as "doing" anything, we've just stayed around the home base. And that's just how we wanted it. Since my parents have sold their home, it's the last summer we get to hang out where we grew up, so we just hung out close to home.

 



Visiting.

Yes, we still have some friends out here. Wonderful, wonderful friends who drive to visit us. Who don't mind that we haven't seen them for 2+ years. Who don't just pick up where we left off, but somehow don't really leave off. And they even read our blog. Such dedication!

We enjoyed some awesome visits with our friends from the area and away. Joseph and Isaac (1 month apart in age) met when they were 3/4 months old and we haven't seen them since. But boys will be boys and they hit it off immediately building roads together in the sand box.

Later in the week when we enjoyed a visit from the Bebjaks we got to watch our little ones, John Paul and Lucy (2 months apart in age), chatter and kick on the floor side by side. Although these two were due just 1 month apart, an early girl and late little boy make for a larger age difference. However, John Paul doesn't seem to let that get to him and he's just as big and definitely fatter than Lucy. Lucy, on the other hand, is so very sweet with gorgeous eyelashes and a giggle to melt your heart.

Actually, all the babies we saw this week were girls. If you're thinking that perhaps the cute dresses and all got to me, you're right. A little girl is certainly sugar and spice and everything nice!


Sean, Stephanie, Isaac & Kateri Koechl. Our boys are just 1 month apart.

Joe & Frances Platt. Haven't changed a bit.

 

Mike & Elana Bebjak. Their daughter Lucy is the sweetest and the same size as John Paul who's two months younger.







Growing (up & out).

Besides having a lot of fun, our boys seem to have been growing this week. Joseph is growing up. We started potty training just two weeks before leaving on vacation and while he was doing really well, we still left home with some qualms about the whole thing and expecting to be set back considerably. Instead, Joseph has actually overcome his fear or whatever it was, of pooping on the toilet. The celebration that ensued the first time he accomplished this feat was incredible. Nothing like an entire huge house-hold congratulating you on your bathroom business!

 

And John Paul has grown out... quite literally! He is now officially "John Paul the Fat". On the hotter days, we've completely removed all his clothing and he gets passed around almost naked. He loves it and so does his fat, not having anything to restrict it's expansion.

Does he remind you at all of Carl from "UP" as a little boy? Hahaha!



Ontario Update

The visit goes well here Ontario. I have been able to study for my comp. exam, and get in some jogs. I hope to make it to the Gretzky centre soon for a much needed workout (pushups and chin-ups only go so far). The weather has been considerably cooler than usual (thankfully), although it is still very muggy. A temperature of 23 usually feels like 33.

 

This morning Joseph and I made it out to Mass with Grandma and Grandpa. Afterwards we grabbed a morning coffee. Joseph enjoys the bigger more beautiful churches. Plus, today's Mass was said by no fewer than 5 Polish priests. Joseph was amazed.

 

When it Rains it Pours

Brief Update

Yes, it has been pouring rain of late. The golf course is flooded once again, as are the surrounding roads. Our house withstood the heavy deluge, but many other homes in this town were flooding. And, of course, southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba are under some serious water.

But it also pours when it rains in the figurative sense. Yeesh. We have neglected the blog lately because, well, our computer crashed. We have since had to buy a new one (not exactly in the budget of late). Hopefully we can recover our many files. I actually need them in order to study for my comp exam this summer. Our van air conditioner is scheduled to cost us a small fortune. The lawyer today ate us up for a good chunk of cash as well. Joseph got some stitches on Monday for slipping in the tub. And, well, John Paul has been exceptionally whiny lately. And, whiny is exactly what I sound like right now so I'll stop.

Actually, things are going very well. We leave for Ontario tomorrow to visit Becca's family. We were blessed with a darling new niece this week (!) and can't wait to meet her. We get possession of the house on the 15th. The Riders won their home opener. The boys are (mostly) a blast to be around. Really, life is grand.

 

 Joseph and I watching the Tisdale parade on Thursday night.

 

 

 Me teaching Joseph while at the museum on Canada Day.

 

 

Working hard in the heat. Trees down. Digging up and re-grading the grass. Among other things. Thankfully I have a great helper.