Canoeing on the slough

It continues to be a very wet spring here.  The slough ((in the prairies) a large hole where water collects or the water in such a hole) near our yard is fuller than it has ever been.  Some years this area is completely dry but such is not the case this year.  The other night we decided to take the canoe out on the slough.  It was a nice evening and we enjoyed the ride.  As we were canoeing we saw some snails in the water and we tried to grab them (nearly tipping the canoe in the process).  The girls enjoyed looking at the snails but LK just crushed them in his hand.  When we arrived back at shore the girls were delighted to find that there were hundreds of snails in the shallows and quickly started collecting them.  LK of course has to be where they are and ended getting all wet (good thing it was a fairly warm night).  The girls enjoyed finding all these snails and a jar of them made its way to school the next day for show and tell.

Star collecting snails.

Sky with a handful of snails. 

Yes, LK got all wet.

Weekly Update: A Wet Spring, LK Outside, A Night Away

It has been a very wet spring here and this past week was no different.  I have not got any garden planted yet and this is what my garden looked like last week.

As you can see it is very muddy and full of standing water.  As it has been raining all day today I don't think it is getting any drier.  As it is already pretty late in the season I think I may not have a garden this year.  It is a little disappointing.  However with being pregnant and having a busy little guy who keeps me hopping it may be for the best.  I am already feeling quite large, sore, and tired with this pregnancy.  It's hard to believe with my first at this time I was barely showing and with this fourth pregnancy I am already starting to waddle when I am tired. 

LK is getting to be very active.  He loves being outside and cries when we have to go in.  One of his favorite places to go to is the chicken coop.  He likes watching the chickens and feeding them some grass.  There is also a kitten that hangs out their that he likes to visit.

I have to be on my toes when outside as he does wander off on me frequently.  However in most cases when I can't find him I go look by the chicken coop and there he is chasing the kitten around or watching the chickens.

In other news this past weekend Hubby and I went away for a night.  Grandma graciously volunteered to watch the kiddos.  It was our first time being apart from LK and I was a little worried about leaving him as he is a bit of a mama's boy.  However, he was fine and everyone was happy because he would let them hold him since I wasn't around to cling to.  Hubby and I spent the night at the Manitou Springs Resort Hotel and Mineral Spa.  It was a nice, relaxing time.  The water there is really interesting and you float with no effort.  With this pregnant belly I could literally be straight up in down in the deep water and I would just float there.  Hubby wasn't quite as buoyant but he definitely could easily float on his back with no effort.

We also spent the day in the city yesterday getting our applications in for our passports.  We are thinking of going to Yellowstone this year for our camping trip.  LK was not happy about getting his picture taken but we were able to get an acceptable one after giving him the keys to play with.

Here I am with my pregnant belly in front of Manitou Lake.



A Weekly Update : New Chicks, Dandylions, and Doll Houses

Well it's been awhile again since I posted anything here on this blog.  Time seems to fly by these days.  I am going to try and do a weekly update so as to record some of the activities that happen each week.  Hopefully it will motivate me to spend some time with the kiddos and take some pictures.

This week we got some chicks that my father-in-law and his wife hatched for us.  New chicks are always so cute and fun.  The girls as always enjoyed holding them.  LK was very excited to see them but it was a challenge to keep him from too rough with them.

Sky holding a chick. 

Star with a chick.

Chicks

It has been really rainy here is Sask. My garden is just a huge puddle.  We did have one nice day this week though so we bought some flowers and were able to plant them in our flower bed by the house.

The girls planting flowers.

Of course LK has to help too!

We also did some dandelion picking on that nice day.  As you can see we have no shortage of them.

And what did we do on all the rainy days?  Well, I will admit that some TV watching did happen.  But then Star asked Dad to bring home some boxes from work so that they could make doll houses in the basement.

Sky with her dolls and doll house.



Star going into her doll house.

So that is a few things that we did this past week.  We also managed to brand the calves this weekend as it was too wet for seeding.  It was a little mucky in the corrals but luckily we didn't get rained on too much.  How was your week?

Washing the Floor

My floor was in desperate need of a washing the other day.  Since the girls were home from school (it was a snow day) I decided to enlist their help.  I had them change into their old swimsuits.  Then I gave them a pail of water and some rags and let them go to town.  They think that this is a lot of fun.  They get to wear their swimsuits in the winter, play with water, and help mom.  When they are done washing I give them an old towel to dry the floor.  Voila, a clean floor and fun activity for kids. 

Star and Sky hard at work scrubbing the floor.

Menu Plan Monday

My menu planning has been pretty haphazard while I wasn't posting it on my blog.  That combined with general pregnancy fatigue and a lack of desire to cook (and sometimes to even eat) while pregnant has led to a few too many convenience meals.  I know my menus are never very interesting to read but posting them helps me to actually put together a menu and follow it.  So this is the plan for this week:

Monday:  Roast chicken, potatoes, gravy, and corn.
I still have some old hens in my freezer that I need to use up so I will cook a couple in my slow cooker.  They turn out nice and tender that way and we can use the leftover meat all week.

Tuesday: Chicken quesadillas (made with leftover chicken) and broccoli salad.

Wednesday:  Chicken noodle soup (made with leftover chicken again) and biscuits.

Thursday:  It is Star's day to cook.  I think she is wanting to make devilled eggs or egg salad sandwiches.

Friday:  Not sure yet.  Either pizza or pasta.

For more menus check out orgjunkie.com.

A Little Update

So I thought I would update you all on a few things that happened during my blogging break.  First of all LK turned 1 in February.  I cannot believe my little  boy is one.  He is walking all over the place now and is quite a climber.  I have found him standing on the kitchen table numerous times and he also climbs right up on top of the back of the couch.  He is not saying and words yet but he does make a few sounds (mmmm for cow, vrmm for vehicles, grrrrr for lions and other animals).  He loves books with real pictures of animals and can make the signs for most farm animals.  For his 1st birthday we didn't have much of a party as the girls had a skating competition that same weekend but we did have Grandpa over for supper and I made an apple crisp for his birthday cake. 

LK in his highchair

LK awaiting his birthday cake.

In other news the girls were keeping busy with skating and school.  They went to one skating competition in a neighbouring town and the year ended with the clubs own skating carnival.  The girls both enjoyed a good year in skating and improved a lot.

                Sky at the skating carnival.                                                 

Star at the skating carnival.

So currently the girls are not in any activities which makes our schedule a little less busy.  I was hoping that we would be spending a lot of time outside by now biking, horseback riding, and what not.  However we are still covered by a blanket of snow here in Sask.  In fact the girls are home from school today on a snow day as we were hit with a big snow storm over the weekend.  Hopefully we will have some warmer weather soon.

I'm Back With An Announcement

Well I took a long and unexpected blogging break but I am back with big (at least for me) news.  Baby #4 is on its way and expected to arrive sometime in the fall.  The last few months have been a bit rough as I have been very tired and nauseated along with trying to keep up with a very active 1 yr old boy.  I hope that I feel a bit better in the next few months.  We will see.  I am not sure how much blogging I will be doing as things will continue to be busy but I hope to post some about activities with the kiddos (I have hardly taken any pictures of them the last couple months so hopefully I will moved to take some and post them).  Also I want to continue with some homemaking posts to help keep me on track with the cleaning and cooking.

I am really looking forward to some nice spring weather so we can spend more time outside.  Our yard currently is still filled with snow.  Today it is melting a bit so we also have a huge mud puddle in the midst of the snow piles. 

Well that is all for now.  Hopefully I will be back with more soon.