June 1-4: was quite a blur! All the days were very stressful. We had a wedding on Saturday that we had to be ready for, it was the first one with the washrooms. The couple came with there family on Wednesday and said it was pretty shocking. We didn’t have the toilets or sinks hooked up, there was a pile of asphalt and dirt on the driveway, grass wasn’t cut, and garbage everywhere outside the workshop. On Thursday they came to set up the barn. They brought there tools and really helped out a lot! They moved the pile of asphalt and finished the path to the washrooms, they cut the grass, they set up the barn, and they helped install toilets. That night we got them working! On Friday/Saturday we finished up a lot of the small stuff in the washrooms. They were really nice and the only thing missing were the two urinals that we still have to install and mirrors in the female washrooms. The kids were really good, they watched movies and helped us. We love how good they were. Sophia spent lots of time with Daddy working on the washrooms at the end.
To top it off, ducklings started to hatch. The mother duck, last week abandoned her eggs, because she adopted the other 6 that hatched 4 weeks ago. She just left her eggs and started taking care of them. So we took the eggs and put them in the incubator. 7 out of 8 hatched! I put them in with the chicks. Now I have 18 baby birds in the rock room. I usually keep them indoors for a week and then into the coop in a cage for a few days, and then they are on there own…hopefully another chicken or duck will adopt them.
A and B celebrated there birthday on the 4th. I made a merengue cake. They had a good time. A and B are almost walking. They also like to bounce and hit things with there hands. The girls went to Emma’s birthday party. They also loved it.
The wedding went well…that’s what they said. Except the power went off for a few minutes. I tried to go for a run on the treadmill while running the dryer. We blew a main fuse and Frank had to replace it. There was also a Roll Royce SUV - a 600K car here. The owner was the owner of Kimco, they had there own personal driver.
June 5: this was a recovery day. We went to church. Then we went square dancing. It was through the church. We met many other young families and the kids played lots. It was fun. Frank and I danced. That night we went to bed early, after we all had baths.
June 6: the girls went to school and Frank and I just kind of cleaned up and started writing a list of all the things that need to get done around here. Frank cleaned the workshop. I cleaned up garbage from the wedding. We then moved some of the dirt pile by the parking lot, to get ready to plant trees there. We hung out with kids. I did gardening and Frank cleaned his car with Peter.
June 7: Things around our home and property are very relaxed now. Almost too relaxed…that we don’t do much. I drove the girls to school today, then I went to a guy on Hiscocks road, he just opened a feed store, to buy more bedding for the ducklings. The ducklings that were suppose to hatch on Friday, already started, 3 days early. Two hatched today, and it looks like more will hatch tomorrow. I now have 20 small birds in the rock room. I hope to put the chicks o utside tomorrow, because it’s been a week. They all seem very happy.
Alice’s front tooth is wiggling, she is excited to get it out. We played a board game today and she didn’t win. She cried for 15 min :(, no words were able to help her.
Frank worked on learning Field theory and this website. He then installed a fan in the girls washroom. We also took out lots of garbage! 17 bags. It feels nice to get rid of it.
June 8: Today was officially our wedding anniversary, 9 years! I did have a lot of ducklings hatch. I think there are about 25 birds in the rock room, and they keep hatching. I did some gardening today. I planted some beets. I also started to get ready to mortar the water trough. It is pretty damaged. It rained lots too. Then I took all the kids to soccer. Alice and Peter played. It was Peters first time, he scored a goal! But he only tried for about 5 min the whole time and the rest he sat out with me and we watched. I was really proud of him. Adam has a fever and a cold. He isn’t sleeping much, which means I’m not sleeping much either. I hope he gets better soon, it is so hard to see him in pain.
June 9: Today the girls went to school and me and the babies went to Kingston. They had a doctors appointment with Dr. Mitchell. It was a busy day in the hospital and it took 2.5hours of waiting to see us. I came very under prepared, I didn’t have any food for them and they got pretty fussy. I don’t know what the doctor thought of us. Adam weighs 18lbs and Benjamin weighs 21.5 lbs. Adam is about a 1cm longer, at 72 cm. The weight hasn’t changed much since March so the doctor is asking me to give them homo milk.
The ducklings keep hatching! I must have about 35 at home now. Frank went to Kingston when I got home and I was so busy. Some chicks and ducks went the coop, it rained a lot, so I had to get my mom to help me with the babies, so I didn’t have to bring them the bus stop. Alice is feeling pretty sick and fell asleep. Sophia and I worked on my garden a bit. We then made dinner. It is really hard to put 5 kids to bed on my own, but somehow, if I’m patient enough they fall asleep…eventually!
June 10: Today started out a bit different. Alice was sick and stayed home, Sophia missed the bus and Frank drove her to school. I played a ton of board games with the kids, Frank did some marking. We then went outside to move some dirt.
We then went inside and Frank watched the kids and I worked on the water trough fixing. We then watched a movie and went to bed.
June 11: Home day! We started with cleaning. It was a really deep clean of our boot room and Kitchen. It took all day and we didn’t even finish. We also had a fire. The ducklings left our home today and went into the chicken coop. They are in thee cages there. In a week we will start to let them explore. Deda says we need to do this, so they learn where there home is.
June 12: Family Day. We woke up and got ready to go on a trip. It always takes us so long to get ready, but we managed to leave before noon. We went to Upper Canada Village. It was a very nice day. We got to milk a cow and the kids and daddy got to do a mini train trip. Peter put a pistachio shell up his nose. I took it out. He told me he put two up. I couldn’t see the other one so we called first aid. They couldn’t either, but, said if he keeps complaining about discomfort, then take him to the hospital. He did not, so we never went. We had Pizza and went home. At home we played Yahtzee and went to bed.
June 13: The girls went to school today and we tried to have a regular day. But, last night one of the cats didn’t come home. We were really worried, so we searched for it. Frank found it, it was run over :(. It was really sad. Frank buried it behind the chicken coop. We still have the girl cat. I think she misses her brother.
Alice lost a front tooth and then wrote a letter to the tooth fairy. She wants a stuffed unicorn, a baby cat, and a chocolate egg…🙄 I mortared the water trough a bit. I’m almost halfway. It looks nice, I think. We had a couple come to plan there wedding, they are getting married Aug 6 and Frank put asphalt beside the workshop.
June 14-17: These days were pretty regular days. Some highlights were: I completed the water trough mortaring. Frank put asphalt around the workshop…now we can move the large pile of dirt. Sophia had soccer, I missed it by an hour, she was a bit upset with me. Alice had soccer the next day. She was amazing goalie. She stopped two hard stops with her body, one in the stomach. What a champ. Peter did not want to play any soccer and he just sat out the whole game. Peter hung out with Babi, trying to learn to play baseball. The babies were a bit sick. We went to Kingston and ran a whole bunch of errands. Alice had an end of year talent show. It was pretty cute, they sang songs and did a play with her reading. I made little strawberry cakes, Peter helped me. A and B got there 1 year vaccines. They each got 3 pokes :(. They aren’t growing very much, even though to me they seem bigger. Sophia continues to be very attentive to the chicks and ducklings. Jazz, our boy cat, got run over by a car. It was really sad. Now his sister is all alone:(. Frank started working on the boys bathroom, to get the urinals in. Visitors we had were Franks dad and a couple that’s getting married at our farm, parents.
June 18: work day! Frank made breakfast and then started to work right away on the boys washrooms. He made a lot of progress. I had all the kids. We cleaned the house. We also made a stuffed animal from Alice’s sewing kit. I didn’t get much of a break today. I worked hard and so did Frank. We felt really accomplished at the end of the day.
June 19 - Fathers Day! Today was a day we celebrate our wonderful dads! I have a great dad and also have a great dad as a husband. I’m lucky. We woke up, I wanted to make breakfast, but, things got busy and Frank made it. We made it to church though! I made Frank a video of him being a dad 2021-2022 and the girls made him stuff at school. After church we went to visit franks dad and then tried to get feed for the ducklings. A raccoon got into the feed last night, and there was none left this morning. There are 33 ducklings and 11 chicks, they are all hungry! I then drove to Kingston to get them feed. The girls went to Babis house, the boys hung out at home. In the evening we had steak and fondue for desert. I hope Frank liked his day.
June 20. Monday! Girls go to school. We had a duckling that was attacked during the night by the older ducks. I’m not sure why they don’t like the younger ones…maybe because they are way cuter? The duckling had a bloody head, so I took home indoors, under a heat lamp and gave it food and water. I gave it a bath later on too. Frank worked in the morning and I hung out with the boys. He then went to Kingston, to clean up the rental. Tenants are coming this weekend. I gardened and cleaned until The girls came home. When they did come, we hung out on the trampoline and had fun. Then we went inside and cooked dinner and watched a movie. Sophia brought home two more injured ducklings :(. Frank came home at night just to help me tuck in the kids to bed.
June 21: Regular day. Girls went to school. Alice had a track and field meet (against a different class). Peter is trying to learn the letters of the alphabet and to write. I really don’t know if he is right or left handed, he uses both! Frank worked on my website. I wanted to sand the dresser, but it started raining, so we pressure washed the staircase instead. We then went to Sophia’s soccer game. She said she scored a goal, but I didn’t see it :(. We had pizza and went home. When I got home, the duckling was dead! I was really sad because I really thought he was going to make it. We then went to bed early.
June 22: Today was Kingston day! I went early, before the girls got on the bus, because Adam had a genetic appointment. It was a waste of time. When he was a few months old the doctor ordered this test to make sure he’s okay. He grew a lot since that time and he’s doing great they said. Frank met me in Kingston and we went to Costco together. Then he went back to the rental to clean the basement and I went home with the boys. That night we all went to soccer, it was Alice’s and Peters night. Peter doesn’t like to play, he just stands in the field. He played for about a minute, and when he does, he’s so good! I don’t know how to encourage him to keep going.
June 23: we worked today. I sanded a dresser. Frank cleaned the workshop and organized garbage. I planted ferns and lavender around the property, I hope it will look nice. A couple came and looked at our barn today, I think they will book. The girls got their report cards. Alice all As and Sophia all Bs.
June 24: Today was an off day. Sophia had to go to the doctor in the morning for a hearing test. The school recommended it. She did not have wear wax build up, so she has to go to a different clinic. Frank then went to home hardware and I watched the boys. I worked on the number 2 garden. I moved the lavender from the side of the house to the water trough. Peter drove around on his Jeep and he almost fell asleep, it was so funny. We then moved a bit of dirt and Frank wired up the boot room lights. We did some yoga and made burgers.
June 25: Saturday! The girls are excited for the summer to start, they have there last day of school on Monday. I had a camping reservation to start Sunday night, but they made me change it to Monday, because going to school for that last day is so important. The teachers have a fun day planned. We moved dirt today and washed/prepared the deck outside the barn to be treated with protection. The kids played a lot outside. Sophia spent the whole day cleaning the chicken coop with Deda. Frank pressure washed it after. Peter and Alice played together a lot today.
June 26: The boys are a bit sick today. They have tummy problems, lots of dirty diapers that are leaking out. I went to church with Alice and Sophia and Frank stayed at home with the boys, Peter fell back asleep. Michelle and Bobby came to visit and get carpets put in her jeep. I then painted the deck, but didn’t finish because it started raining. We played board games. Alice wins a lot…and if she doesn’t she gets pretty upset. Frank and I watched a movie and the kids went to bed.
June 27: what an exhausting day! The girls went to school and I worked really hard on packing. Frank cleaned the fridge and packed the car. It took a long time to pack, we are only going for three days to Sandbanks. Finally got out of the house at 5. The girls had a great last day of school. We drove to Walmart to get some items and the. To Sandbanks. The campsite we stayed at was 144-it was really nice. We set up our site and went to bed. It was late and a lot of it was done in the dark. The kids and daddy went biking. I felt sick, hopefully it will pass soon. Here is inside the tent.
June 28: First full day of camping…with two one year olds! It was a nice day as a family, but, definitely not so relaxing for the parents. The babies need a lot of room, but we only had a play pen. They did okay, they got to crawl around on the beach but they ate a bit of sand. It was pretty cold to swim, but Frank and the girls made it in. Alice was shivering, but tried to keep up with Sophia. I gave her my sweater when she came out and she was better. The kids and Frank did a lot of biking, and I did a lot of walking and pushing the stroller. We had a campfire, but Peter fell asleep. Alice and Sophia did marshmallows, Alice was very patient with hers and Sophia was not. They are so different. I told a scary story that I made up and they got really scared. I told them it wasn’t true, but they were both scared. :(. Peter says some funny things - “Mommy where does your mouth go?” “Where does the hole in your bum go?” He is a curious boy. “Daddy when are we going camping?” As he’s crawling out of the tent. Peter also got his first bike and bikes around for the first time. The babies sleep okay at night. B wanted to be cuddled alot. It’s fine, but when A starts crying, to feed, I have to push B away and he wakes up and cries. So there was some crying and it’s awkward, I think, in a tent, because others can hear. Although Frank said he didn’t hear them, and he sleeps in the same tent.
June 29: Today is another camping day. It is pretty cold and the babies are not sleeping well at night. I made the best of it. In the morning we tried to go to the visitors centre. I removed this from my childhood, they always had kid stuff going on and tones of displays and animals, so I was hoping my kids could get the same experience. It was a long walk, but Frank and SAP took there bikes. It was now an office! They said it moved, so we drove to the new location and it was awful. One turtle and a whole bunch of stuff for sale. So we left quickly. Then it started raining so we drove around. We visited a different wedding venue and found out they charge 25K per wedding, and they aren’t even that great! We then had burgers with a giant playground and went back to play mini putt. It was fun. Then we had a campfire and went to bed.
June 30: What a day! It started with packing. Frank was sick. We went home. Then in Kingston Frank and I got in a fight and he went home. I walked to Gananoque. It was far. I got in at midnight and it was pretty crazy walk. It was 35ish km. I called him to pick me up, because I didn’t have my cell phone, I did it from a borrowed phone. He didn’t get my message, I was really sad:(.