Christmas 2020 - Santa vs. Ada

 Ok, so this is ridiculously late.  I usually post about Christmas every year and my kids love looking back through every Christmas Past.  I had a Christmas 2020 post in my head, but it never seemed to make it on to paper until now.  With Christmas 2021 approaching maybe it will help us all get into the Christmas Spirit.

Gus and I made the unconventional choice when our kids were young not to pretend that Santa Claus was real.  We had our idealistic parenting reasons, but like most idealistic parenting choices, they do not always work out in practice the way you had planned.  Not pretending about Santa Claus went off without a hitch with my two oldest children, but Ada had other ideas. Ada was determined to believe in Santa Claus and when Ada is determined ....well good luck getting in her way.

The whole problem started when we visited the library (terrible parenting choice right there) and they had a fun program running where kids could write letters to Santa.  Ada, at this point, was already declaring to whomever would listen that Santa was real.  I am not a total beast.  When she would ask me if Santa was real I would tell her "I do not believe in Santa, but you can make your own choice."  Ada would then tell me resolutely that Santa WAS real.  Max would say, "Ada, look at the evidence" and then regale the poor child with loads of logic which Ada stoutly ignored.  "Santa is magic!"  she would retort.  And so Ada was delighted when she discovered that she could write a letter to Santa at the library.

"If he responds, mom, I will know he is real, because this is the library and you can't just pretend to respond for him."

So she and Darwyn both wrote letters and, low and behold, Santa did indeed respond.  Ada waved her letter with glee and made everyone in the house read it to her over and over.  Santa updated Ada on the north pole, politely suggested some books she might like and then told her that because of covid, he would not becoming inside this year.  "Please leave cookies and carrots outside for my reindeer and I to eat."

With solid proof in her hand, Ada was now convinced that (a) Santa was real and (b) we absolutely must put out a carrot and cookies on our front step on Christmas Eve.  "And," she added, "Santa always knows what you want more than anything else and he gives it to you for Christmas."

Now I am beginning to feel manipulated.  It is a humbling feeling to realize that you are not intelligent enough to outsmart your 5 year old daughter.  But I know defeat when I see it.  

I never planned to pretend I was Santa, but I can't bear the thought of her checking for presents in the morning and finding nothing.  Here in the issue lies:  every present I bought her has been under the tree for weeks.  I did not plan any other gift and Christmas is tomorrow.  Ada has put her cookies and a carrot outside (in a Tupperware after I positively assured her that Santa was smart enough to find them anyway).  

The only thing not under the tree are 3 jars of pickles.  My children love pickles and beg for their own jars.  This year I bought some when I did my Christmas food shop and I had not yet wrapped them.  So pickles it is.  I go outside and steal back the cookies and frozen limp carrot and replace them on the front step with 3 wrapped bags, labelled Max, Darwyn and Ada.  

The next morning Ada races into the living room bright and early.  The very first thing she does is remember her cookies and carrot.  I think she half expects them to still be sitting there as she pads down the front stairs to the door.  When she opens the door and sees the snow dusted presents, her whole face lights up with glee.  "I told you!  See I told you!" she exclaims, jumping up and down.  The other kids rush to see and each grabs a present and brings it to the living room.  

Before the three of them go to open their presents, Ada reminds them that "Santa always gets you what you want most!"  She rips into her bag and emerges from a flurry of wrapping with ... a jar of pickles.  "Its a jar of pickles," she says.  I hold my breath.  Max and Darwyn whoop with delight.  They are truly excited to have their very own jar of pickles.  Ada stares at her jar, at first perplexed, and then she seems to decide something.  She looks solemnly up at me, "Santa knew that I really wanted pickles more than anything else," she assures me and goes to eat her first pickle. 

Christmas 2020 in photos and videos:

Pandemic Halloween (2020) and still pandemic Halloween (2021)

 I realized that I did not post anything for Halloween last year, so I decided to combine it with this years post.  Halloween this year was uneventful.  The highlight was Gus's costume box special  and maple the hotdog  (see photos below).  

Honestly, I am surprised I did not write about last years Halloween as it was much more amusing.  It was a very quiet Halloween because of the pandemic, but fun, as many household had come up with new and innovative ways to give out candy including extensive shoots and lowering candy from second story windows.  

My favorite story favorite story from last Halloween happened during candy trading. Every year after trick-or-treating the kids dump all their candy on the living room floor and engage in extensive negotiations over who should exchange what for what.  In once such exchange Max traded Darwyn a fun dip (which neither of them had ever seen before).  Darwyn got a good deal because no one knew what a Fun dip was.  

Darwyn to Ted:  What's this?

Ted:  A Fun Dip!  That's a classic!

Darwyn: (Gaining enthusiasm)  Oh!  Do they taste good?

Ted: Not particularly, it is more about the experience.

Ted goes on to explain how to eat a Fun Dip.  All the kids listen with growing enthusiasm.  After that trading resumes and Max has to trade to get his fun dip back, only now the going rate is 4:1.  Oops!  I guess marketing works. 

Darwyn's 2021 pumpkin

Ada's 2021 pumpkin

Mom's 2021 pumpkin on behalf of Max

Gus's costume box surprise

Ada 2021

Darwyn and Ada 2020

Max 2020

Ada's Pandemic views

 At bedtime the other night we were discussing yet another thing we couldn't do because of the pandemic.  

Ada looked sadly up at me and said "Mom, COVID has had too long of a turn."  

Amen.  That is a message I think I might print on a mask!

Mad about boxes

I came in to the kids bedroom awhile ago to Max and Darwyn embroiled in a heated argument.  Darwyn had acquired a box and Max was fighting for his right to it.  The whole fight struck me as a little odd.  The girls love boxes.  They offer no end of craft opportunities.  But Max, who isn't much into crafts, hasn't shown much interest in boxes in awhile.  

Surprised by this, I asked "Why do you want a box anyway, Max?"

"I want to sleep with it."

"Sorry?"

"I want to sleep with it."

"You want to sleep with it..." I said slowly.  

"Yes," Max replied evenly.

I know boxes are supposed to be the toy where your imagination is the limit, but they never struck me as particularly cuddly.  Max explained to me that he wanted to sleep in the box, which was only a minor improvement.  He already sleeps in a claustrophobic bunk bed with a roof so low he can't sit up, but apparently it is too spacious.  He and Darwyn decided that he could have the next two boxes if she got this one.

Unfortunately for Max the next box that arrived was rather small.  It was just barely large enough to fit his head, and shallow enough that it was more of a hat than a house.  But he was not to be deterred.  He insisted that this was his box.  Ada, who had not been in on the previous bargin, felt she should have a turn with the box.  What's more, she felt that sleeping with a box was just about the best idea anyone had ever had.  Even a box that was more of a hat.  After further lengthy negotiation they agreed that they would take turns sleeping with the box.  

Can you spot Max sleeping in his box?

Max got the first turn and took the box to bed.  He set it up at the top of his bed and slept with the top 1/4 of his head inside.  Ada and Darwyn found this inadequate.  Ada resorted to sleeping with the box beside her as a cuddle toy.  When I came in to wake up Darwyn on the third morning she was fast asleep on her back with the box perched precariously on her abdomen.  I wish I had thought to grab my camera.  

For the following 2 weeks the kids took turns sleeping with the box until it was so destroyed it was (apparently) not even adequate for sleeping with.  

Darwyn meets The Hobbit

I just finished reading The Hobbit with Max and Darwyn.  Max and I first read the book together back in 2014 and I wrote about it then.  This is the first time Darwyn's heard the story.  They both loved it.

Our favourite chapter is Riddles in the Dark, wherein Bilbo discovers the ring.  Darwyn loves Gollum and was bouncing off the walls that night.  She took the book to bed and reread all the riddles.  She posed the riddles to her friends at school the next day.  She made new riddles of her own.

Building on our success with The Hobbit, we've decided to start The Lord of the Rings.  I've warned Darwyn that these books are much longer and slower-paced.  We'll see how it goes.  We finished chapter 1.  Bilbo's birthday party had twelve dozen guests.  I asked Darwyn how many guests that is and she computed the answer all by herself in her head.

Ada's first thoughts on government

 Max has been learning about rights and freedoms at school.  At dinner one night he went on a rant about freedom of speech.  

Max:  I want to know why kids don't have freedom of speech at school!  We aren't allowed to express our opinions.

Greta:  Well, I think you can if you do so respectfully.  There is a difference between freedom of speech and slander.

Gus:  Yes, freedom of speech is more like not being able to express your views about a bad government.

Through this conversation Ada was eating her dinner and largely ignoring what we were saying.  At the mention of the word government she perked right up.

Ada: Yes!  Government!  What I want to know is why the government is giving everybody else money, but nobody is giving me any money!

She wasn't pleased when we all started laughing.  Not sure where she got the idea that the government was giving us all money (maybe CERB?), but I might have to quote her on a T-shirt.

Democracy

 Max is studying political systems in class.  Today Max was telling me about democracy. 

Max:  Mom, I want to know why our classroom is not a democracy.  

Me:  That is a good question.  Perhaps you should ask your teacher that question.  In all honesty, Max, there are conditions under which a democracy doesn't work very well.

Max:  Yeah, like when you don't have an odd number of people.

Standards

 Ada was sitting at the table colouring.  While she worked she was chattering away to me.

Ada: Mom, do you know how no matter what I draw you love it?

Greta:  Yes

Ada:  While on this drawing I need to do my best work.  This is for my friends and they are not like you.

First Day of School

 The kids all recently had their first day of school with the new COVID regime.  I was a little worried about how they would like it, particularly Max who is going to school full time for the first time in a long while.  After his first day I ask him, "How was school Max?"

Max:  Ok I guess.  We played some fun games during gym.

Greta: What about the learning?

Max:  That wasn't too bad either.  I was able to tune most of it out.

A visit from the Easter Bunny

This Easter weekend we decided to take advantage of some of the nice weather and clean up the yard.  I was busily working away at clearing leaves and debris from the mint bed when I accidentally uncovered the Easter bunny, or should I say, her babies.  The kids were delighted.  The babies eyes were not yet open, but they have hair and are very cute.  We put the nest back together.  I thought the mom would move the babies the next day when she saw the nest had been disturbed, but she did not.  They are still there.  Here are a few pictures:

Escaping Quarantine

With the weather starting to get a little nicer, we escaped quarantine one afternoon and ventured down to the creek near our house.  We are lucky to live near a lot of nature and a few days prior the kids had found a nice private section of the creek filled with minnows.  It was perfect for social distancing, while still having somewhere to go!  We came back a few days later armed with nets and a pail and a plan to catch some fish.  It took a lot of patience, but before long we had a truly impressive haul.

Minnow fishing spot

Max also spent a good part of the afternoon attempting to trace the underground paths of some burrowing animal.  He stuck sticks down, ran around finding entrances, stuck his head in and even resorted to digging himself.  I have to admit it was a great deal of entertainment from a literal hole in the ground!  It also made for an amusing picture.

Max with his head in a hole

Want to see that a little closer?

Story time with Darwyn Jean

Inspired by the story time put on by her uncle Mike for the Saskatoon Public Library, Darwyn has decided to do her own story time.  Watch and enjoy!

P.S.  Ada's is coming soon!

Best parents in the biggest thing

Ada told us: "You're the best parents in the universe.  Um, actually, you're the best parents in the cul-de-sac.  Because that's bigger."

Hands are for Helping

Ada has started Kindergarten this year and loves it.  I went to pick her up awhile ago (it has taken me a while to post this story) and her teacher beckoned me to the door.  "Ada had a bit of an altercation in class today," she confided in me, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.  I was a little confused by her expression.  She went on.  "I didn't see what happened.  Her friend Julie was playing with the blocks, I think, and another little boy, Franky, might have tried to take them.... Anyway, when I looked over Ada was threatening Franky with her fist."

"Oh dear," I said.  The small smile on the teachers face grew slightly and I became even more perplexed.

"We try to teach the kids that they can't hit by telling them 'hands are for helping'.  When I saw Ada with Franky, I said, 'Ada!  Hands are for helping!!!'.  She turned to look at me with her first still in Franky's face and said, quite calmly, 'I am helping - I am helping Julie."

Apparently, the teacher took Ada's actions very seriously and Ada was asked to sit in the thinking chair.  The teacher said Ada was very calm about everything until that moment, at which point she became outraged.  Ada told me all about it on the way home, complaining that she had wanted to make it through the whole year without going to the thinking chair.  She clearly felt that the Kindergarten policies weren't clear. 

"Ada!" I said, "You pinned another child to the wall, of course you had to sit in the thinking chair!"

Ada sleeps with lots of friends close by

[link to hi-res image]

That's a rhetorical cookie

Greta:  Do you want a cookie?

Max:  (with attitude) Um...yeah

Greta: (laughing) Your right.  What kind of question is that?!

Max: (pause) A rhetorical question?

Not quite, but I still thought it was funny!

Cargo bike take 2

Four years ago we bought a cargo trike.  I wanted to be able to carry all our kids and gear on a bike.  While that bike was impressive in its ability to carry stuff it was like biking around a semi-trailer with half the agility.  It was heavy, slow and cumbersome.  We sold it at a loss, barely used.

A year later we visited Saskatoon and tried Liz's awesome long-tail cargo bike.  I loved it.  It was SO much more agile and when you weren't carrying kids or cargo it felt like biking a normal bike.  But it was really expensive and I had already burned my cargo bike budget on the cargo trike.  So we settled for a combination of a tow bike and bike trailer.  Cumbersome, but it worked.

This year Darwyn was just too big for the bike trailer.  She and Max are old enough to ride on their own if the trip is close, but they can't ride on any busy roads or longer distances.  I still had my eye on that long tail.  And lucky me, a beautiful long tail cargo bike came up on kijiji for a steal and with electric assist.  I wasn't sure how I felt about electric assist, but I couldn't turn down the price tag so we are once again cargo bike owners!

It turns out I love e-assist.  I often don't use it, but when I need it, it is a life saver.  I take the bike on many more trips because it increases my range and my speed.  Ada is even more infatuated than I am.  She loves the bike and begs us to take her on joy rides.  Once on, she begs you to turn on e-assist to the max and go at top speed (a little over 30km an hour).  She is a total adrenaline junky!  She will come along on any trip where we get to take the cargo bike and has come with me to get groceries, and tow a different bike to the bike shop for a tune up.  The long tail is stable, easy and versatile.  I love it and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to bike around lots of kids and stuff.  Check out some of the cool stuff we've done with it!

Gus and Ada test riding the bike right after we bought it.

I built my own version of a hooptie to provide handle bars for the kids.
This is a prototype made from PVC.  The final version will be made from electrical conduit.
I also sewed washable seat pads.

Towing a regular bike to the bike shop
(No Ada is not dragging the bike.  She just likes to have her hand there.)

First load of groceries + Ada

Full market load, including a half bushel of beans and a half bushel of nectarines

All 3 kids on the bike.  Please ignore the theatrics.

Diet Restrictions

Ted:  I really like tea

Darwyn: Me too!  And you don't need to kill anything to eat it.

Max: You kill the tea plant!

Gus:  I won't eat anything that casts a shadow.

Max: (between heaves of laughter) Bad news dude.  You can eat glass and not much else!

Mommy can I pleeeease get a puppy???

The kids want a dog.  I'm not sure what got them on this kick, but they are all sure their life is not worth living if it does not include a puppy.  Ada is more flexible and declared to me that she would accept "a puppy, a kitty or a baby."

Gus and I are more realistic and understand the energy involved in having a dog, but it did not help our resolve when we stopped at Mapeltons one afternoon to discover these:

With some effort Gus and I held the line and we did not leave Mapeltons with a puppy.  We decided that rather than get a dog we would borrow one.  This, we explained to the kids, would allow them to demonstrate their dedication to actually looking after a dog and would help them understand the work that goes into a dog.

My friend April has a lovely German Shepard named Yoda and they were going away for 10 days, so we decided to watch her dog for her.  Yoda is very sweet.  He is sociable, loves fetch, and he is very patient and kind with the kids.  This last trait is especially fortuitous because Ada absolutely loves Yoda....a little too much.  She follows him around all day talking to him and cuddling him.  I'm not certain he loves the cuddling, but he is quite patient about it.  She loves to tell him "No Yoda!"  I have explained to her that she shouldn't say no unless he is actually doing something wrong, but my wisdom fell on deaf ears.  Fortunately, Yoda ignores Ada's admonitions.  Ada is so fond of saying "No Yoda!" that Darwyn has even heard her doing it in her sleep, while she giggles.

Yoda loves to play tug with the kids.  We bought them a long rope so they could safely play with him and he drags the older kids all over the yard, while they shriek and laugh.  Ada wanted in on the fun and they dutifully gave her a turn.  Ada does not know how to tug.  She jumps up and down while holding the rope.  Yoda gave her one "are you kidding me?!" look, groaned and laid down (still with the rope in his mouth).  After that he laid there while Ada tugged and pulled to no effect.  It was quite cute.  Unfortunately, we did not catch it on video.

Yoda's other quirk is that he loves water hoses...something we discovered when we attempted to fill the kiddy pool.  He lunges and bites at the stream of water as though he thinks he can catch it like a  ball.  It is hilarious.  The kids caught it on video:

The kids did come along when I walked Yoda and Max even agreed to pick up some poo....although he was quite disgusted by the practice and took more than a little prodding.  Unfortunately, most of the work still fell on me.  Still, everyone loved to have Yoda visit.

Trigator take 2

This past June the kids did their second year of the trigator triathlon for kids.  Everyone did well and had a great time.  Ada managed to halve her time from last year, owing largely to the fact that her biking has improved dramatically.  She was still reluctant to swim on her own, however, and Gus once again carried her across the pool.  But she loved it and as soon as she finished the race she asked to do it again.  I am sure she is the only person in history that wanted to repeat the triathlon the instant they crossed the finish line!

Both Darwyn and Max also improved their times from last year.  Like Ada, Darwyn was much better on her bike.  Last year she used an impromptu balance bike.  This year a month or so before the trigator Dar decided she wanted to ride her regular bike and she devoted a huge amount of effort to improving.  She looked like she had been riding for years by the time triathlon day rolled around.

Max made record time on the bike portion and also chose to swim the pool this year without a life jacket.  Max is about as buoyant as a stone with arms, so I was a little skeptical that that was a good idea.  But there is a personal volunteer for each kid that stays with in arms length of them for their entire swim, so I couldn't see the harm in it.  Max did a great job and swam almost the whole thing without any aid.  His head was above the water (if barely) most of the time, except for when he stopped to wave at grandma and grandpa (see photo below)!

Below are pictures and videos!  Special thank you to Aunty Sue for taking all these awesome photos.

Darwyn the athlete!

Just high-fived grandpa on his way past!

Waving to onlookers while swimming is not a recommended activity.

Another awesome trigator for all!