My summer ended SUPERB. It was a GREAT trip. The kids had a blast. There was lots of great family time to be had and 'firsts' for some of the kids.
I arrived home Friday afternoon. House smelled a bit. But I figured that it was just from being shut up for two weeks. We opened the house up and then scrambled to figure out food, etc. When coming home my bank accounts were running very low because I screwed up my EI application (a whole different story for another day).
Saturday morning I opened the chest freezer to grab blueberries for the oatmeal. Source of the smell found. Chest freezer was FULL of rotten food (unplugged). I shut the door, and closed the door to the laundry room and did what anyone in my shoes (without a husband) would do....I called my Mommy!!! She swooped in and helped me get the three garbage bags worth of toxic waste out of the freezer, clean the freezer, empty out the trailer, unload the toxic waste into a dumpster behind the local gas station (Friday is garbage day here). She even watched the kids during 'quiet' time so I could run to the local grocery store to grab a couple of staples. At one point the laundry sink overflowed so there was that mess too. The boys took off to a neighbour's house in the morning while we were dealing with the toxic mess so that was a HUGE blessing!
Sunday after church was spent trying to find my house, unpack the pile in my dining room from the trailer, find my yard, clip the chicken's wings, and clean the house. Sunday night as I was climbing into bed I realized that I forgot to pick up CO's birthday present that was in my parent's basement....sigh. I got the kitchen quickly decorated for him.
Monday morning was busy. Birthday waffles, T's first day of school. CO had no school since it was his birthday and all (I don't go to work on my birthday), and I tackled the mountain of laundry since the laundry room was not unstinked enough to be in there previously without wanting to vomit.
We headed to town to pick up the cake (the first year I haven't made CO's cake since he came to me but he wanted an ice cream cake) at noon for birthday lunch (my mom joined us). Home for quiet time and then after picking up T from school we headed to my parent's for birthday dinner.
Tuesday was my Bible Study group. Exactly what my heart was needing....I got a visitor to the door just before we left which left me with a terrible sinking feeling in my heart. CO was nervous about going to Bible Study as he is now old enough to attend the homeschool class...but in the end...WONDERFUL! he participated and had such a blast. B also went into the nursery without causing a big fuss.
Wednesday...farmers market and canning with my mom and my failed attempt to apologize for the situation that was brought to my attention Tuesday morning. We got over 20 jars of diced tomatoes done.
The week seemed to be one thing after another. Things falling and breaking, nasty neighbours, the boys fighting, things stopping working, my bed getting peed in during quiet time, etc. BUT I choose to focus on the good. moments with the kids, the fact that even though my bank account is in a deficit and I lost a lot of food, that the cupboards were stocked and we had a roof over our head. I am blessed. Abundantly. I kept thinking my week was full of moments that I was leaning on God...trusting in him and filling the house with worship music.
B is officially a toilet user. She is doing very well. When toilet training CO and J I had them both trained with their BMs first as they were regular and I could predict when they needed to go. B...not so much. So I find that I am cleaning up messes...but hopefully she will catch onto putting it in the toilet rather than not...
I am looking forward to being done with daytime diapers.
The kids are happy to be home. They have been completely enjoying the backyard again as well as playing with toys that they have not played with during the nice weather. CO begged me to bring out some toys that have been in storage since winter for his birthday. We are easing into the homeschooling thing. The days are still nice and are calling us outside to enjoy it.
CO spent a big part of today with B 'painting' my house and fence. They have a bucket that they fill with water and use paintbrushes. I love that my kids do this kind of creative play and that they do it for hours without needing technology or me to come up with ways to entertain them. T participates but doesn't stick with it as long. He is more of a car man. He will play in the backyard for about 20 minutes but then he is back inside playing with his cars. He has come very far in the few months since coming that I am sure he will soon expand his horizons when it comes to play. The two boys have gone from fighting 95% of the day to only about 5% which is SO nice. They still have their moments.
Being home have increased T's food obsessions. I need to deal with it differently and be more patient. I get too easily annoyed at being asked multiple times in a short period of time about food. I can't be in the kitchen without him hovering and asking for food.
My MIL has been a blessing. We've had a few good long chats and they always make my heart feel better and lift my spirits...she is a lovely woman with a big heart!
We have switched AWANA groups. The club we were attending wasn't actually following the program which was frustrating for me as I really wanted my kids to partake in the program as it is a really good one. The church actually switched to a different program this year. I am SO happy we switched clubs and didn't stay at the old location with the new program. The boys both came home VERY excited about the program. And CO participated...he was nervous but he joined in which is BIG for him.
Next week we will be more busy as we will also be starting into Beavers and swimming lessons. I would like to get T into something musical as I think there is always a song running through his head. He is constantly singing and drumming. But it will have to be a really good fit as I am not sure I want to have us overloaded with lessons and running around.
