Juniper posing with Linden and Daisy the Doll on her last day of school
This past week simultaneously marked Juniper's last week of Kindergarten (!), and Linden's day care provider's vacation week. It was, therefore, a wee bit hectic.
The "dress and skirt" combo is one of Juniper's signature favourites
Spending a full-on week with Linden, while trying to maintain this whole "no more naps" thing taught me a few important tidbits.
1) It is important (*vitally* important) to get Linden out of the house as soon as possible in the morning, and to do something active. This works out best if we choose something where we are both active. Sometimes this means taking him with me to the gym (he runs around the daycare while I work out), but even more fun is going on a bike ride/run. I get a major workout trying to keep up with Linden, and he has a ball flying around on his bike. Two or three times we got Clark to drive to work, and then we made the focus of our exercise a trip to go get the car. As an added bonus, there is some crazy construction going on right beside Clark's building these days, complete with every sort of truck and digger and crane imaginable, and a whole lot of dynamite blasting. Does it get more exciting than that?
Walking the tracks mid-biking adventure
2. It is important (*even MORE vitally important*) to plan for some at-home "quiet time" when Linden would normally nap. I have tried to push these boundaries more than once, with the thought that if we are skipping nap, I might as well take advantage of not being constricted by strict time lines. This has resulted in a number of gaffs - some loud and unpleasant crankiness in stores, Linden falling asleep on the way home from somewhere, etc. Last week, however, I saw the full extent of the afternoon twilight zone. I decided we'd head to the library to sign up for our Ontario library cards. We were there for awhile, read a bunch of books, and all was going well. When it came time to do all the signing up for stuff, however, Linden started getting restless. The librarian gave him some books to look at. That worked for awhile, until he noticed some DVDs, and began opening cases and twirling them around. "No, Linden!" I admonished, but the librarian said "no, no - don't worry - he can't hurt anything. Let him explore! " Literally 10 seconds later, I looked over, and he was gone. "well he can't have gotten very far", the librarian laughed. Oh, so very wrong. I happened to glance out the window, and there was a flash of orange shirt running at top speed up a grassy hill. Linden had escaped through a side door (which should have, incidentally, set off an alarm), and managed to bolt far enough away that by the time I got outside, I could barely see him. Terrifying? Um, yes. We will be safely at home from now on, I think.
A few bug bites, and Linden looks like he was on the wrong side of a fist fight
And finally, I will end with the bird house saga. Shortly after Clark hung his father's day birdhouse on the fence, it became clear that there was one particularly gluttonous black squirrel helping himself to all the seed, and spilling half of it on the ground. Clearly, something needed to be done. So we all trooped off to the hardware store, and came back with a couple of 2x4s and some aluminum flashing. Clark and Linden then rigged up this little beauty of a contraption:
The new and improved bird feeder - and if you look closely, a BIRD!
More than just making the bird house shiny and space-aged, it has also proved incredibly effective so far at keeping this squirrel at bay. It has also, as you shall see, provided endless entertainment.
And finally, another little video montage from the week. One of our rainy day nature (ie, puddle) walk, and another of Juniper composing a piece. We were all down in the basement one afternoon - I was sewing, Linden was playing with his trains, and Juniper, all on her own, got a pen and paper, and sat down to compose a piece at the piano. No prompting from me, and no help, either. She reminds me a *little* of me at that age.
Happy (day after) Father's Day! I have to say, we ramped it up a notch this year, and gave Clark one full-on celebratory weekend. This is not surprising, as Juniper has entered a rather intense party-planning phase of her existence (she has, for instance, been making plans for her own birthday daily for the last 8 months or so). We had special suppers, a special breakfast (in bed), multiple presents, given at various different points in the weekend, special activities and outings... seriously, I feel like I should have gifted myself a day at the spa just to unwind from the whole thing. Joking! (sort of). All joking aside, I can't think of a father who deserves to be fêted more than Clark, so I'm happy we pulled it all off. Here are some highlights, as well as some other goodies, and some videos, to boot! (including the much ballyhooed return of Juniper and Linden dot org. Be sure to check it out!)
Presents, presents, presents: This year, Clark somehow managed to get continually showered with gifts for the entire weekend. There were the usual cards and pictures and school-created goodies (a bag of "steak spice", for instance, that Juniper was SUPER proud of), as well as the necessary nature items, such as this particularly lovely collection:
Some early father's day offerings foraged on a nature hike
Clark also managed to accumulate quite the collection of coffee-related supplies including an AeroPress and a nice Burr Grinder, and a couple of sweet value village mugs from Juniper (because, seriously, what we need around here is more pottery). The pièce de resistance, however, was this big beautiful wooden bird feeder that Linden found (also at Value Village). It was the PERFECT father's day project. I even put aside my inhibitions, and got some non-washable paints for the occasion. The kids fell a little short of keeping it a secret (Linden, for instance, pointedly told Clark not to look at the bird feeder), but he managed to not actually SEE it until it was completed. It is a thing of beauty:
Hard at work painting the bird feeder
Close-up of Linden putting on the finishing touches
The finished product, hung on the backyard fence (for now)
Juniper wanted to show off her fancy princess face paint, procured at a charity rummage sale we happened across
Mountain biking adventure: On Saturday afternoon, I had some (more) father's day-related errands to run, so Clark decided to take the kids on a bit of a mountain biking adventure. Linden was super keen, but Juniper declared that she'd rather run errands with me. I tried to convince her otherwise - not because I didn't want the company, but because mountain biking sounded WAY more fun. She actually said (and I'm not paraphrasing) "I want to go with you, mama, because I love you and I want to spend time with you". Seriously. How could I say no to that? It might have also had something to do with the ice cream cone she knew she'd be getting at IKEA, but I'll take some sweet words when I can get them!
The boys, about to set off on their adventure
Hard Core Mountain Biking
Father's Day! It included breakfast in bed (waffles with berries and whipped cream and maple syrup, as well as bacon, boiled egg and brie on the side)...
My kitchen helper early on father's day morning, complete with very fancy (vintage 80's) dress, and improvised chef's hat
... and then a trip to Pinhey's Point Historic Site. We wanted to do something fun and unusual, so we literally googled Ottawa Father's Day events, and came across a webpage for this historic site not far from us. These are the details, for anyone interested, as well as a description of Pinhey himself:
The special event for father's day was a "heritage trade show", where there were day-long demonstrations including blacksmithing, carpentry, blade smithing, rope making, weaving and spinning and cooking. It was seriously the perfect outing, and we are totally going back, maybe on a semi-regular basis.
holding the reins and discussing all things horse on our hay ride
Around the corner was this blacksmith, who does this for a living. We bought a little key chain for juniper (which we actually watched him make!), and he threw in a hook for Linden.
Linden tries his hand at the wood shaver.
Hard at work punching a design into a piece of tin to make a lantern
A highly anachronistic (yet highly enjoyable!) park in the middle of the site
Just taking an apple break in some ridiculously high socks
I would say that about sums up our weekend. Here are some other random pics from the week, including the terrariums that I have finally finished creating and hanging. Perhaps no one else will find them as interesting and beautiful as I do, but I thought I'd include them just in case!
Though we have officially decided to just nix afternoon naps, there are still occasions when Linden can't help himself
Sometimes, if Clark takes the car to work, I have to walk to get it. I don't mind.
Two terrariums hanging with the birds in the living room...
...and two in my office window
Close-up on what is currently my favourite.
And finally, here is that video I promised! It is two random Linden videos thrown together. The first two clips are from the beautiful mountain biking adventure that the boys went on. The second is what Linden gets up to in the morning before he leaves his room. You see, Linden is very erratic when it comes to morning schedule. He knows he's not supposed to come out of his room until 7am (which he often honours, due to the promise of a gummy bear - yes, we've resorted to bribing). However, because no one sleeps in there with him, we have no idea what time he is actually getting up. Some days, it is pretty clear from his grumpy demeanour that he woke WAY too early and never went back to sleep. So for the last few nights, Clark has set up a computer camera that takes photos every 10 seconds, to see when Linden actually turns on his light and gets up for the day. The times got cut off on the video, but on this particular occasion, Linden turned on his light at a very respectable 6:30am, and left when he looked at his clock and realized it was after 7:00am. We're going to keep recording for the next week or so to see what his patterns are - I'll be very interested!
Also, don't forget to check out the grand return of Juniper and Linden dot org! You can find it here. Whew! I can't believe I actually finished this post at the end of such a looooong weekend. Maybe I deserve that spa day after all. See you next week!
The end result of choosing to push bedtime for a bit of after-supper soccer
This week saw the return of Clark, and the restoration of a bit of balance in our lives. Not that anything is ever particularly balanced around here, but the scales have at least tipped in a decidedly positive direction.
Carefully cleaning the tracks on the electric train set that hasn't been used in a good 25 years or so
A kick-ass block tunnel
One of the highlights for Linden since Clark's return was the restoration of this old electric train table that Clark's dad had made for Clark and his siblings more than 2 decades ago. In the process, Clark and Linden found their way to this classic old model train store not far from us - a gem of a place that is rather amazingly still in business (though not for long, Clark surmised). "You should have seen Linden's face when we walked in", Clark told me later. "I would say it was like a kid in a candy shop, but it was more like.... well, like a Linden in a train shop". He was, of course, enthralled. Even better, though, was when the trains actually started running on our very own track. What is more exciting than that?
Juniper proudly displaying the brand-new chore chart
A thing of beauty
For Juniper, the excitement of the week, I believe, was finally putting together this chore chart. This was actually a long time coming - Juniper has been expressing an interest in allowance, and is, as it turns out, very motivated by being able to check things off a list. So I devised this (relatively brilliant, if I do say so myself), chart. For anybody as organizationally nerdy as me, shall I take you on a little tour? So, the chores are on the left hand side, colour coded by time of day/type of chore. There are some blank spots left in case there is a need to add some specific ones in any given day. The middle bit is divided by day of week, and has spots big enough for Juniper to check off the chore when it has been completed. On the right hand side, we have the days of the week again, but this time the spots are big enough for stickers. Depending on how Juniper did on that day, she'll get anywhere between maybe 1-3 stickers. At the end of the week, each sticker is worth $0.25. The whole main body of it is covered in mac tac, so it can be wiped clean every week, and the stickers can be easily removed.
I have no idea if this will actually work, or continue past the first week, but I am at the very least incredibly satisfied with myself. And that's the most important thing, right?
Juniper chillaxin' in the new hammock
As we are poised to start our first "normal" week in what seems like forever, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Linden is able to soldier through. He's done round #2 of ear infection antibiotics, but seems to have developed some sort of sinus/nasal congestion thing. This meant that he basically didn't sleep last night, which, of course, can be the start of of a terrible spiral. Besides the eucalyptus steaming and the humidifier and the saline nasal spray, I decided this time around to try some lymph draining as well. This just basically means massaging Linden's face in particular places to try and clear up his sinuses and get rid of any blockages in his lymphatic system. I have yet to see if it works, but he sure did like it. He liked it so much, in fact, that he looked at me afterwards, put his little hand on my arm, and said "thank you for doing that, mama. It felt really nice. Can I do it to you now?"
How could I resist?
I'm also going to find a naturopath this week - I think Linden and I could both use a bit of a tune-up. I must need an adrenal boost or something - this daily exhaustion isn't normal. And Linden is seeming to be sick more often than he is healthy lately. So hopefully we can both start to turn things around. And hopefully I can write like a mad-woman - it is somehow mid-June, and I am behind schedule with respect to my thesis. Wish me luck!
Juniper, thrilled to meet her new friend Oli on the weekend (Oli is the son of a couple of Clark's old friends who live in the city)
I ignored Linden's complaints about his tired legs. Juniper, however, took action.
We are now fully into week two of Clark's extended trip out west. Shouldering the responsibilities of kids and home as a solo act is always difficult, but this particular trip has felt almost impossible to manage. I realized at some point that this could be, in large part, because it feels as though we are in the middle of some stress/sickness/exhaustion-induced regression of some sort. Let me explain.
In the throes of what turned out to be ear infection #2
I am reminded often from my two not-so-little kids that I no longer have any babies. This is very true. I am now far enough away from those early years, in fact, that I forget sometimes the struggles inherent in the rapid-fire developmental changes - the most dreaded of which is the regression. Just when you think you've hit a rhythm; just when you think you've turned a corner or accomplished an important milestone or rite of passage, everything reverts back to whatever struggle you had all been dealing with. Unsurprisingly, the regressions I remember with most clarity are those involving sleep.
Trying to be a goof at the medical clinic, on an Advil-induced temporary high
Since Clark's departure, we have all been dealing with massive sleep regression. In the early days, it was (stress-induced?) bad dreams. Juniper would be in my room at midnight. Then Linden at 2am. Then Juniper at 3 am. Then Linden would be in at 5am, and not go back to sleep. Though it took a few days, Juniper stopped this nonsense, but Linden got worse - to the point where he and I both started to become barely functional throughout the day. I realized when he started complaining about his head and his ear that this was actually a sickness - turns out only shortly after finishing out his 10-day course of antibiotics, Linden had developed ear infection #2.
One bad-ass Snow White
This sleep regression, however, snow-balled into some seriously un-managable behaviour issues. I can't even really call them regressions, because they are things I had never fully encountered before - at least not to this extreme. It was like my mostly sweet little boy had turned into this crazy, mean monster of a child - specifically ignoring everything I said, hitting and kicking and screaming in my face, bolting in stores, and honest-to-goodness looking for ways to be bad. He also started obsessively sticking his hands into places he shouldn't and putting things in his mouth - something I would call a serious regression if he had ever been prone to such behaviours. I can't imagine that I would have known how to to manage this at the best of times, but with a week of almost no sleep? I didn't recognize myself, either. I was at a complete loss for how to even make it through the day.
Fastidiously drawing skulls at the Museum of Nature
After a full weekend of antibiotics, and some much-needed hang-outs with friends, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Though my body woke me up periodically throughout the night last night (due no doubt to a week of conditioning), it would appear as though both kids actually slept soundly. Also, after shepherding everyone off to school, I had the day to myself, which was a very necessary mental break. I went to the gym, did chores, and just... relaxed. Iw ill tell you, however, that Clark can't come home soon enough. And next time he goes away for an extended amount of time, we need to have a better support network in place, because I feel like I almost hit breaking point.
Even though we now have a full set of deck chairs, Juniper and Linden still like to share
Best expression ever.
Anyway, despite all of that, we had a pretty jam-packed weekend. We said good-bye to Olivia, took a trip to the Nature Museum, Juniper went on an extremely fun play-date with Zack (which started out with some family yoga taught by Erin!), and we spent an afternoon at the park with Simon. Now, these were all events that would have been ever-so-much more enjoyable under optimal conditions, but despite all the unpleasantness, I think these things kept us going. Here are some pics. Have a great week!
Right before taking Olivia to the airport
Some huge friends at the Nature Museum!
Picnic with Simon
Bocce Ball!
Juniper is surprisingly good at hitting the ball
Seaweed monster
It's not the ocean, but the closest we've found so far!
I'm just going to post a couple of photos while I have the chance today. I am in the middle of a conference (Congress is in Ottawa this year), I'm hosting a good friend is also at Congress, Clark is in BC for a conference of his own, and my mom is here to help in the middle of it all (but leaving tomorrow - boo!) I'll certainly have more photos next week, but for now, I'm off!
