Day 2808

It turns out the city does still exist outside of our neighbourhood.

And even with a pack of new experiences all at once, our chill little Banana stays pretty darn chill.

Day 2807

The world seems to be exploding a little, at least if you focus a lot (too much) on the news from our southern neighbour. But today I got to watch a Dragon launch, I got the garden closer to ready for planting, and I got to see the ISS pass overhead.

It was a good day.

Day 2806

You know you’re in for a time when the three year old doesn’t nap...

Day 2805

Another job briefly adopted: school photographer.

Now I understand why they take three shots of each kid and you get what you get. Apparently after three pictures standing nicely they get deathly bored.

Day 2804

Banana has discovered jokes. Most of them are hatting or hitting related.

Day 2803

We can’t see the owls living in the tree out front this year, but we can still see the next best thing: people stopping and pointing and staring up at the trees.

Day 2802

I wonder if we have started on a path that will ultimately lead to a flash card intervention...

Day 2801

Gave the dog a haircut and the bigs increased the frequency and intensity of their requests for haircuts.

Found a new activity to keep the kids busy: making Flashcards. I don’t understand what many of their cards are for, but it did entertain them. Hopefully I won’t be expected to remember that the blue swirl is a dump truck.

Day 2800

Chinchilla insists he is Spider-Man. He wants to make a Spider-Man costume and web shooters. He insists we call him Spider-Man at all times. He scripts lines for us. I’m trying to use this in our favour and told him Spider-Man always pees and poops in the toilet. We’ll see how that goes.

He also asked me today when I died. Then ‘I haven’t died yet, too.’

Which was of course shortly after he told me he died on the day I was born.

Day 2799

Would it be wrong to request quarantine-style birthdays from now on? I like their low key style.

Plus, Lizard said this was the best at home birthday party we’ve ever had.

Day 2798

The bigs are grappling with the moral implications of wrestling. Hitting is bad, so does that make wrestlers bad guys?

Day 2797

I love reading a book and randomly discovering something new. Or stumbling across a reference to something and falling down a rabbit hole in the web.

Now I know about cyanotypes and Scottish lighthouses. I’ll never need that information, but I can’t help but feel that it enriches my life.

Day 2796

One of those demoralizing death by a thousand cuts were nothing very terrible happens but enough small stupid things happen that you just feel a little defeated.

Reminding myself of gratitude: having the chance to walk nearly everyday and watch spring happening tree by tree; an astonishing and tremendous niece; a sweet smiling baby covered with spaghetti; snuggling and reading to Lizard and watching her read to the baby; a boy who says the darnedest things; an able body that can carry my children when they’re hurt; and a loving husband who can get me to giggle my way out of grumps.

Day 2795

Bertram doesn’t know what to make of all these walks. But getting him to run a bit does allow him to show off his excellent puddle impersonation.

I think he might have the hardest time of all of us going back to “normal”.

Day 2794

More blows struck against our foes, the garden rabbits. From the bloody trail on our sidewalk, it appears one of them may have met a neighbourhood predator, and this afternoon we chopped and bagged a good chunk of the tree branches they spent the winter nibbling on and pooping under.

Take that, furry poop-fiends!

Day 2793

Chinchilla has suddenly become obsessed with making a Spider-Man costume with web.

Lizard wants me to sew a dressing gown for her brother’s doll.

Looks like I might need to start refreshing my sewing skills sooner than anticipated...

Day 2792

We lost our sweet Oz ten years ago today. He’s been gone for far longer than he was with us. 

I miss him.

Day 2791

I made up a silly song and it is apparently like crack to silly children. But at least they have internalized the plural for platypus.

Day 2790

The eternal dilemma of parents: Lizard keeps making really cool things with paper that she cuts up and tapes together, but she also makes confetti that ends up all over the floor and that she and her brother fight over. Is the frustration worth it? Probably. Does that make it more aggravating? Likely.

Day 2789

That feeling when your five year old has you running intervals with her...

Day 2788

You know you’re in for a good time when you’re low on sleep, the baby is teething, the eldest is overtired and the midlest is extra three.

Day 2787

Kids projecting their feelings onto other people is occasionally hilarious. Like when they are totally convinced that their great grandmother wants me to read a kids book to her via video chat.

Day 2786

Banana has introduced rage face into her clowning repertoire and I caught it on video and it has already made the world a better place.

Day 2785

Banana seems to have figured out that she can make people laugh and she’s going all in on goofball.

She’s also becoming pretty stubbornly anti baby food, so I guess it’s time to use our mincing skills.

Day 2784

Building castles and enjoying Lizard’s boundless enthusiasm for walks.

We probably need to start taking hikes with this girl, once trails are available again.

Day 2783

Parenting can be excellent for mindfulness. Sometimes a little snuggle can be the whole world.

Day 2782

Chinchilla routinely says absolutely bonkers things that blow my mind. His vocabulary is ridiculous so he can actually articulate some of what is going on in his crazy three year old brain. And it’s a lot to wrap an adult brain around.

And then I think... what if the trend continues? What if Banana is even better at talking?

Day 2781

Our big children have very abruptly started sleeping in (or at least waking up and chatting so quietly that it doesn’t disturb us) and it’s making me confused and disoriented. I both do and do not want to encourage this habit.

Day 2780

Banana has officially started babbling, to the great delight of the entire family. Unfortunately, she is following the lead of the rest of the family for appropriate volume for speech.

Day 2779

Apparently it is possible for Lizard to voluntarily stop watching a movie. Which probably means she has more sense than her mother.

Day 2778

No matter the weather, if we go for a walk Lizard will comment on it being a beautiful day for a walk.