Mish-Mash

Yesterday was the last day of soccer. There was a barbecue and a soccer game free-for-all (it was supposed to be kids against the parents, but it wasn't really organized). The kids got a little excited:


Also, Jude and I baked together. My Aunty Ruth Anne gave each of the boys a "Gold Medal Flour Alpha-Bakery" cookbook when we stopped through at their place in Oregon. This was the first time we made anything from it. Jude read the entire recipe, and got a lesson in fractions, too! It made the project, which would have taken twenty minutes by myself, stretch to two hours! Oh, well. We both had fun. Jude did a great job. And the strawberry shortbreads tasted awesome!


This morning, Jabin came up to me wearing these goggles and being goofy. I couldn't help but notice the resemblance it gave him to the robot on his shirt:



Also, this morning we got the sad news that Jason's Uncle Dale passed away. It was expected--he has had a variety of health problems for some time, and without a liver transplant, it was only a matter of time. However, we are sad to see him go. We will miss his humour, his upbeat attitude, and his generous spirit. Rest In Peace, Uncle Dale.

Moving Right Along...

Yesterday, Jason bought a trailer.

The mobile-home kind, not the kind that helps you move things behind your vehicle.

This means three things:

1. We will be moving again by fall.
2. We will be living on our property by fall.
3. We will be living in a trailer.

That last one only really bothers Jason. Since I know it's temporary, I can handle it and make it work. I lived in a trailer until I was nine, and I know that one can survive the experience unscathed. Jason, however, seems to have some kind of horrific expectation of what will come of living in a mobile home. Okay, not really, but he seriously wrestled with the decision, even though the one we bought has already depreciated as much as it's going to, and when we sell it in a few years, we can get all of our money back from it. And, as he says, "We'll be living in a trailer."

However, the only point that I'm really excited about is number two. Because, seriously? I've really moved enough in one year already. Really.

My Latest Challenge

As you all know, I am a big Do-It-Yourselfer. However, there is only so much time one has in any given year to do things yourself, or learn how to do things yourself.

This year is the year of gardening. And woodworking.

Okay, I haven't exactly taken a class. And it's not exactly something from a fine furniture store. (More like IKEA, as Jason told his mother.) But I designed and created this very functional, very sturdy bookshelf, inspired by the need to find something big enough and strong enough to hold my scrapbooks and scrapbooking supplies. (Most bookshelves do not have enough space between shelves for a scrapbook to stand vertically.) Jason cut most of the wood for me. Although I have been getting over my fear of saws (something about a vivid memory of the tip of my uncle's finger being cut off while using a table saw while I was only 8 or 9) and would have done it myself if I had to, it was kind of cool to be able to work together on a project for once.

Look how much it holds! (on left)

This shelf cost a total of $36--only four dollars more than the flimsy, pre-cut-but-you-still-assemble-it-yourself modular version on the right. Plus, I just priced out the cost of making another one if I get the lumber from UFA on Jason's employee discount (the last one was supplied by Home Hardware). That will only run me about $15! I am very excited, because I have a lot more things laying around in boxes for a lack of anywhere to put them. Now I'm wondering if I could create a market for these babies...

You know. 'Cause I have hardly anything else to do with my time.

New Family Tradition?

This weekend, our family went camping for the second time since having children. The first time was almost exactly a year ago, when we went for a whirlwind, 2-night trip to Writing-On-Stone Provincial park, a mere 18-hour drive from here. (However, it is only a 1/2-hour drive from the border, and the main purpose of the trip was to try and get our work visas for the U.S.)

This time, it took us less than an hour to get there. We were going to a hunting camp in the middle of the bush not too far north of here, owned by my Mom and Mike. And by "middle-of-the-bush," I mean the last five miles of the trip are off-road. On the way out there, Jabin rode in front of Mom on the (borrowed) quad. Jude and Noah rode in the back of Jason's truck with all the gear. They thought that was pretty cool.

Jason got stuck in a bog. The kids thought that was pretty cool, too. (Jason didn't.)
Well, except for the part about the mosquitoes trying to eat us alive while Jason was trying to dig the truck out.

Note to self: Don't go off-roading without a shovel anymore. Oh, and get new tires.

We were really stuck!

Fortunately, where we got stuck was only about a mile from camp, so we ferried everyone in on the quad, as well as the stuff, and got busy with the serious business of roasting weiners and marshmallows.

The next day, Jason's friend Brian came out and rescued the truck with his Jeep. Then he and his grandson stayed for yet more weenies and 'mallows.

Going camping at an established permanent camp is a little like going to the Camping Hilton. It could have been even moreso like that, had we started up the generator and had power, hot water (including a shower!) and a full kitchen. However, it was warm. We didn't know the particulars about getting the generator started. And it's kind of fun heating all your water and doing all your cooking over the campfire.

Signature Jabin-grin:

The main lodge. There is a full kitchen, dining area and sitting area on the first floor, and four beds in the loft. Noah is peeking out through the screen door. What is difficult to see in this photo are the scratch marks and scrapes on the right-hand side of the window frame, caused by bears. What's impossible to see are the muddy bear paw- and nose-prints on the window, made as it was trying to peer in. I cleaned those off on Saturday.

About a half-mile walk from the camp, up a cut-line, is a pond where the beavers have been very busy. All of the felled trees in this photo were their handiwork ("toothiwork?") There was one rather large tree laying there, stripped completely clean of it's bark. Pretty amazing that the little critters have that much skill, patience, and jaw strength.

On the way home, Jabin was a little tired of walking, so we took turns packing him.

These beaver-tooth marks are the only mars I could see on the stripped-clean log, and they were on the end, close to the water. It almost looks like they couldn't get a good enough grip to drag the thing away!

The boys hanging out and eating trail mix while waiting for Sunday morning breakfast. No, Noah is not intentionally flipping the bird!

One little serendipity I discovered this weekend: Eggs in pancakes are optional. I found this out, 'cause I forgot them.

One more thing: you can easily make your own (healthy!) pancake mix by pre-mixing the dry ingredients, then only bringing your eggs, milk, and oil. (Or, apparently, just the milk and oil!) Then you don't have to worry about those nasty e-mail chain letters warning about toxic reactions to the molds in packaged pancake mix! Since you can't soak your flour using a mix, though, it's probably best to limit consumption of this variety. However, it's a handy time-saver for a weekend trip!

In general, we all had a good time. However, the kids were a little bored for parts of it, and I think Jason was, too. I'm thinking it will be a good thing if we go out there on a regular basis--it can help train our kids to entertain themselves without the use of an electronic device! Yes, we will bring a soccer ball or a frisbee next time (Mommy wasn't thinking about that when she was packing--but at least I brought a deck of cards!). We are also thinking of doing some whittling crafts, etc. Now that we know what's out there, it will help us pack better for the next time out.

And I'm hoping that the "next time out" will be no more than a couple of weeks in the future! 'Cause to me, camping=family fun.

Now, if only I could convince Jason of that!

Adventures In Parenting

I am about to share something that will horrify every responsible parent to read this blog.

On Monday, I paid my child to take his vitamins.

While you recover your breathing abilities after your gasp of shock, I will say it for you to save you the effort: I know I'm a terrible mother. I promise it will never happen again! It was a moment of weakness! Let it be known to all future generations of Winters reading this blog that their (great-great-great-) ancestress committed the mortal sin of bribery!

Now, may I explain?

It started out innocently enough. Jude does not care for a particular herbal blend juice that I give the kids as part of their nutritional regimen. The product is called HFB (a.k.a. "green juice"), and although it is not necessarily the most delicious beverage available, it is sweet enough that Noah downs it without a flinch (only an occasional scrinchy face at the strange aftertaste) and Jabin drinks it mixed with Ningxia Red and likes it so much he usually asks for more! (He doesn't get more, though. It's a supplement, not a snack.)

Not Jude. He's got some serious psychological blockage going on where this drink is concerned. I've given up on trying to get him to drink it straight, so I also give it to him mixed with Ningxia Red. Up until now, he has usually managed to eventually down the 2-oz. glass, albeit with much groaning and complaining. No matter how much Jason and I tried to convince him that he was only torturing himself by prolonging the process, we could never convince him to just chug it back and get it over with.

On days we have shakes, I just put his in there so he is none the wiser. I seriously don't have the energy to fight that battle every two days. However, yesterday we were NOT having shakes, so I gave his brothers their drinks, then plopped Jude's down in front of him.

That was when the Strong-Willed Monster emerged.

"I will NEVER drink this juice," he declared.

Well. You'd think the child would have figured out by now that I am Super Mom-Lady. And Super Mom-Lady always wins.

"Really. Well, you have to sit there until you do. Even if it means you sit there all day and have to sleep in that chair."

With a firm set of his jaw, the Strong-Willed Monster prepared to out-stubborn Super Mom-Lady.

I let him go pee once. I let him have a drink of water (but he was sitting right beside the cooler and did not have to get out of the chair to get one.) But I did not let him lounge. Or go to the bathroom again. And when lunch rolled around, I did not let him have any. I told him he would have to drink his juice first. I figured I needed to exert a little more pressure, since he had surprised me by sitting in the chair for four hours already--even after the other kids had all been outside jumping on the tramp, and he had to sit on his chair.

He surprised me even more by sitting quietly in his chair while the other kids ate lunch around him. This, Mr. "I'm-ALWAYS-Hungry" decided he'd rather be stubborn than have lunch, even though I made sure that all the foods available were things he liked. This was when I had my first inkling that this battle may be more challenging than I had originally imagined.

During this time, various adults had tried to get him to see the logic behind simply getting it over with. Eventually, we uncovered Jude's nefarious plan: to sit there until midnight, when all the adults were asleep, and then pour it down the drain.

This, I suspect, is how he managed to "finish" his juice the previous time, when I left him alone for about ten minutes. I couldn't prove anything, but I definitely wouldn't put it past the Strong-Willed Monster, so this time I made sure he was never left alone for more than ten seconds at a time. When Jude finally revealed his devious scheme, my mom (who has been visiting me this week) informed him that an adult would always be sitting next to him, awake.

This didn't seem to have much effect.

By the time 2:30 p.m. rolled around, I had done pretty much all I could do in the immediate vicinity of the kitchen. I was getting antsy to get to town, because there were some errands to be done, and soccer started in three hours. And Jude was still sitting there at the table. He had "hidden" the shot-glass in a stand he had made of the water glasses that were sitting on the table, as an outward display of defiance, I guess--You can't even make me look at it, let alone drink it!

This was when I started to get weak. Like the Man In Black during his battle of wits with Vizini, I actually got a little nervous. Really, I just ran out of patience--I didn't really want to have to sit with the child until midnight, obviously. I decided stronger tactics were in order. I decided to try and give him some positive reason for wanting to drink the juice.

"Jude, if I laid a buck on the table, and said you could have it if you drank your juice in the next minute, would you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I gave you a dollar, would you drink your juice in a minute?"

"Nope."

"Alright. In that case, if your juice isn't gone in the next five minutes, you are going to get a spank on your bum. And you still have to drink the juice."

"I'm still not going to drink it!" he wailed. "Not for a dollar or a spank!"

"We'll see... Three minutes left... Two minutes... One minute..."

He finally started to crack. "Okay! I'll take the dollar!"

"Nope, too late! You should have taken it when you had the chance! Thirty seconds."

He started to get quite upset for the first time all day. "No, no, Mom, I'll take the dollar!"

I was just ready to be done with this battle.

"Okay, Jude, I'll tell you what. I'll let you have the dollar, but you have to drink the juice in the next thirty seconds."

"Okay."

I looked at my watch. "Ready?... Go!"

Darnit if that kid didn't drink that juice in 10 seconds. Afterwards there was much re-iterating how much better it would have been if he had just done that at 8:30 that morning, and how silly it had been to miss all that playing and lunch just for that. Later there was even more re-iterating that he would never get paid to drink his juice again!

I was slightly worried that the lesson didn't take. However, on Wednesday morning, when I put his juice down in front of him and timed him, he downed the glass in 13 seconds.

I still feel a little guilty about the dollar. But if it helped the child truly learn his lesson, I also feel that it was a dollar well spent. And, even if I had to resort to some devious tactics of my own, Super Mom-Lady still emerged the winner!

Cuddle Bugs

Murray and Bob.

You wouldn't know they spend most of their time rassling with each other, wouldja? Sleep can be so deceivingly peaceful that way.

What a Mug!

This mug belongs to Amanda. But she lets me use it. I'm really glad, because every time I see it, it makes me smile. I mean, look at it: it's big and round; it has a cool circle pattern that makes me think of delicious scrapbooking paper; it's pink and brown and white, one of my current favourite colour combinations; and it's filled with hot chocolate. What's not to love?

Actually, my current favourite hot beverage of choice is white tea with a little honey in it. Usually, though, I do not want to consume this amount of white tea at one time, so I use a different little skinny mug that keeps the heat for a little longer while I sip away.

As you may have guessed, this mug isn't usually filled with hot chocolate. Usually, it is sitting in the cupboard, which is exactly where it was today when I opened the door to decide what I'd like to drink. I was reaching for the skinny mug, when this mug spoke to me.

"Talena, today is a good day for hot chocolate. And you should pick me."

Needless to say, I was a little spooked at this for a minute or two. However, it seemed to be done saying its piece and was content to sit there, mug-like, so after a moment's thought, I decided the mug was right and pulled it from the cupboard.

Why is it a good day for hot chocolate? one might ask. Isn't it summer there in Northern Alberta yet?

Why yes, it is. And I'm sleepy. A good part of the reason why is that the sun is not setting until about 10:00 p.m. these days, with dusk going until nearly 1 a.m. This makes it pretty hard for night-owl me to get to bed at a decent hour. BUT! It does give me plenty of hours after supper to work on my garden! Then the next day, I hurt. And I'm sleepy. And I want hot chocolate in super-sized mugs.

Seriously, I think this mug was made for me.

And here's something to make you smile (if you have a few minutes and a high-speed connection. While you're there, check out the Frozen Grand Central one. Hilarious!)

Funny Face

Happy Saturday!

First Date

Jude and I had our first date tonight.

It has been difficult to get one-on-one time with the kids since we left Arkansas, and it has been showing in their attitudes. Jabin had been extremely whiney after arriving in Alberta (exacerbated by 4 weeks of being sick), and I am sure that he was just as tired of the constant changes as the rest of us were. I took him with me in Jason's truck when I went to pick up our new-to-us mattress set in Grande Prairie a couple of weeks ago, and his attitude was like night and day--he was a much happier boy after that.

Jude's attitude has been okay, for the most part, but once we started doing school activities again last week, it really started suffering. Amanda babysits during the day, and all Jude wants to do is to play with all the kids he can hear running around upstairs.

At the end of yet another "talking-to" on Sunday night, Jude asked if he could sleep on the floor of our room.

You have to understand: our bed is only six inches from the wall on Jason's side of the room; I have a couple of feet on my side; the footward-side of the bed is stacked up to my chest with large boxes, with only a few inches to work your way around them to get into bed; and what floor is showing is cold, painted cement.

"Seriously? You want to sleep on our floor? When you have a perfectly good mattress only one room away from ours?"

I didn't even need Mom's Intuition to realize that our son, who speaks the Love Language of Quality Time, was feeling a little needy for some time with mom and dad.

So, instead, I told him we would go for a date tonight.

We went to Dairy Queen. We ate sundaes. We talked about life, and things kids like to talk about. We talked about ways to make school more fun. Then we went and played in the park behind our old house. Jude thought it was cool that I went down the slide with him--even if I almost got stuck because it was a little too curvy for my long limbs!

And his Quality Time-loving mommy enjoyed the rare special time with her firstborn son. It's pretty unusual that he wants to go do something with just me, when he could be spending time with his friends instead.

I'm going to enjoy every minute I can get right now--I have a feeling that once he's a teenager, I may see him so rarely that I'll forget what he looks like!