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March 19th. Spring?

We were siphoning water from our backyard rink around the 19th of April last year. Old Man Weather got our hopes up a bit with an early thaw and backyard draining in March.

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April 6th. Winter?

Thankfully, this snow lasted just a day or two and we're back to semi-Spring weather. We're supposed to get some teen temperatures this week. Woo!

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I've been on a bread baking kick (or was when I started this post a few weeks ago - time to start a new batch!). Normally, I bake 4 loaves of whole wheat toast bread every week or so with my KitchenAid, but I wanted something additionally as a special bread. After a failed attempt at making my own sourdough starter and then finding out that Dan didn't really like sourdough flavour anyway, I read Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Game changer! I make a big batch of dough that sits in the fridge. I can have bread or baguettes ready in an hour or so to add to a supper - and it's literally no work! The flavour improves as it sits in the fridge. It's so, so easy and pretty too!

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We had Emma, the dog, visit four different times (John Paul kept record) during the month of March. We all love Emma so much and would keep her if we didn't live in town. But the kids just love her visiting! I think Emma likes us too.

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Uh, baby bump picture, anyone? 21weeks! I'm feeling pretty big all over, but according to this pic (taken at 19 weeks) don't actually look as huge as I feel. I think it's deceiving... Baby is kicking like crazy and I've felt it for at least 7 weeks already, which is much earlier than I remember with any other pregnancy. I'm thinking it must be the soft belly after 3 kids already ;) The kids are super excited that "mommy's getting fatter!" and keep telling me I'm going to win lots of watermelon stickers for my belly this summer (i.e. they like to put the stickers off the watermelon on me when I look like a watermelon).

 

20 week ultrasound

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My other "baby" is getting lots of big girl hair-dos of french braids and pony tails. She is definitely outgrowing her afternoon nap, but still sometimes takes one because mommy is tired and needs to take a nap. When she doesn't nap she'll sleep through the night in her "bunk bed" as she likes to call her crib, but when she does nap... she climbs into bed with mom sometime in the middle of the night. And sometimes, she falls asleep during supper or an afternoon/evening story...

{seven}

I celebrated my 33rd (!) birthday this month. We had great riblets care of Costco (seriously, so yummy!) and leftover birthday cupcakes frozen after John Paul's birthday. Yay!

                                   

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Funny kids enjoying the sun after a cold winter. I told them we have to work on smiles again :)

  

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"Blue Day." Brought to you by new Costco spring clothes and crazy kids with an excuse for nuttiness.

 

{ten}

We are limping? groaning? attempting? our way through Lent. Every year I feel like a failure and every year Dan reminds me that I felt that way the year before too. I guess if I felt like I was nailing Lent then I'd be getting proud and failing anyway. I have plans made for Holy Week and am hoping that we can grow in holiness just a little more during this holiest week of the year.

Almost there!

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For your entertainment. 

Catch-up: May & June

Oh my goodness! Blogging has been more than on the back-burner lately. "The blog is dead," Dan says. Yet, we still hang on and put out a feeble post now and again. If for nothing else than to look back some day and read about ourselves. 

Mini-Vacation

Since we were unable to take our yearly overnight trip to Saskatoon for Easter this year, Dan promised the kids another one as soon as we could. We took that trip just before Mother's Day and stayed at the Travelodge. It was a really awesome weekend: poolside rooms, Boston Pizza, trip to Lee Valley, Latin Mass. Just a delightful getaway! 

It would put a smile on your face to have heard the squeals for the slide. By some ridiculous luck, I was unable to go on the slide. Not for lack of wanting to. My worn out bathing suit just would not slide down the slide. I tried twice, with kids, and had to wiggle and push my way down the entire 150 feet of slide. Everyone at the bottom of the slide laughed. And not just my family. My new bathing suit arrived in the mail a few days after our trip, of course. So, Dan got to ride the slide a LOT. The kids lined up to be the next to go.

Joseph won a hustler award at his final hockey tournament, which included a coupon for a free personal pizza at Boston Pizza. He ate the entire thing.

The hot tub was closed on our second trip to the pool, so the kids finished off the night with a hot, deep tub bath, swim suits and all.

When we book hotels, the pool is tops on the list. Continental breakfast? Muffins and juice from home.

Latin Mass, of course. And Pope John Paul II.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, Dan helped the boys make me report cards. We also did something a little like this for Father's Day. The kids are really sticklers for giving out good grades. 

And Joseph's... 

Father's Day: Joseph's on the left and John Paul's report on the right...

Kid Quotes

Joseph, while watching a terrible reno show: "What do they call this show? 'Ugly House Builders'?"

John Paul: "Grandpa Millette knows NOTHING! When he says I'm 2, I'm 3. When he says I'm 3, I'm 4!"

Joseph: "Do you poop on the poop deck?"

John Paul, while eating breakfast: "We're not racing or going fast, it's just that we're trying to beat each other."

May Crowning

We did another May crowning this year. This kids love this little tradition. This year Pope Francis established the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church the day following Pentecost, so that was when we did our crowning.

Grandma Time

Rather, Great-Grandma time. We were delighted to visit a lot with Dan's grandma over her two week visit to Nipawin. Our kids just love Grandma Blerot! 

Storytime

Dan took up the chapter book reading as I finished up the school year. They read and loved Homer Price! 

Planting Grass

As you know, our rink kills our grass every year. We managed to get a bit ahead this year by planting grass early, but then waited forever for it to come up. Meanwhile, we watered and watered and... you don't want to see our water bill from May.

 

Special Guests

We had Aunty Maddy and Oliver (2) visit us for a week at the beginning of June. We took a couple outings to our museum in town, the pool, various parks, and the acreage in Nipawin. But for the most part we stayed close to home and just played in the sandbox. That's what the kids wanted. 

When Maddy and Oliver left, John Paul put himself to bed crying his eyes out. He wanted no comfort. He was so sad. Emilie, too, was heartbroken. They watched out the window and for days would "trick" each other saying they were back for another visit. 

Homeschool Notes: Year-End Review

School is officially done! For the homeschooled ones in our family, anyway. I sent off our year-end review to the division last week. However, we're playing around with Bananagrams and stuff so learning is never really done.

Here's our wrap up from May/June.

Morning Basket

Poetry review. Hymn review. Catechism review. Saints stories. 

We borrowed this book from my SIL and loved the inspiring little stories. 

We've read a ton of great picture books. These wordless books by Aaron Becker are new to us and wow! they are fabulous fantasy "stories".

 

Other new favourites for us lately included some world literature and just some fun surprise stories:

   

  

I think my favourite was Boxes for Katje about a little girl in post-war Holland who receives a box of treats and everyday essentials from an American girl... and thus begins a beautiful friendship.

Language Arts

Finish Little House on the Prairie and watch the movie. Spelling. Story writing. Dictation. 

This is the most recent installment in a series of stories Joseph wrote about a frog, dog, and bird. He's learning sentence construction and we are going to go back to make some corrections on this one. (Also... he stuffed it in his school box so it looks very wrinkly... )

Spelling with Scrabble pieces. We are now using Bananagrams and Joseph loves it!

Dan read Home Price (so, so funny!) to the boys and just started The Trumpet of the Swan.

 

Math 

Addition/subtraction facts to 14. Beginning multiplication (!). Review, review.

Science
Finish Human Body study. Growing cucumber plants, planting and tending garden.

This is our small home garden the boys are caring for completely on their own. Joseph planted peas and carrots. John Paul is growing cucumbers and lettuce. (We have another huge garden in Nipawin).

Social Studies

Listening to The Story of Civilization: Ancient World. 

Joseph is reading all the Magic Treehouse books, but especially those that go along with this time period. We also found companion novels for some of the ancient Greece and Egypt books that go into more of the historical detail. Joseph spent a few days hanging out in a homemade toga, so I guess it's effective. 

We had special visitors the last week and took the opportunity to make our trip to our local museum. Unfortunately, I didn't realize all the out buildings wouldn't be unlocked until their summer student starts in July, but we looked around at what we could see. 

And that's it. Until next year.